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http://www.arcliive.org/details/liistoryofpercher01sand 




FIKST IN WAK. IlKST IX PEACSE A:ND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF OUR 
COUNTRyjIBN. 



A HISTORY OF 

THE 

PERCHERON HORSE 



Including hitherto unpublished data concerning 
the origin and development of the modern type of 
heavy draft, drawn from authentic documents, 
records and manuscripts in the national archives 
of the French Government, together with a detailed 
account of the introduction and dissemination 
of the breed throughout the United States, 
to which is appended a symposium reflecting the 
views of leading contemporary importers and 
breeders touching the selection, feeding and general 
management of stallions, brood mares and foals. 



Compiled under the personal direction of 

ALVIN HOWARD §ANDERS, D. AGR, LL.D. 

Editor "The Breeder's Gazette," author of "Shorthorn Cattle," 
"At the Sign of the Stock Yard Inn" and "The Story of the Herefords." 

In collaboration with 

WAYNE DINSMORE, M. S. A. 

Secretary of the Percheron Society of America. 



CHICAGO 

BREEDER'S GAZETTE PRINT 

1917 






COPYRIGHT. 1917. 

SANDERS PUBLISHING CO, 

All rights reserved. 




MAR 26 1917 
©CU457604 



PUBLISHER'S ANNOUNCEMENT. 

This volume has been compiled in response to a wide- 
spread demand for information touching the origin, 
evolution, development and distribution of the modern 
heavy draft type of Percheron horses. It was under- 
taken originally by Mr. Sanders as individual research 
work along lines similar to his well-known histories of 
the Shorthorn and Hereford breeds of cattle, but press 
of work incidental to the conduct of "The Breeder's 
Gazette" made it necessary that assistance be secured 
in tracing the long story beginning with the early days 
in the Perche, and ending with the Chicago International 
Live Stock Exposition of 1916. 

A determined effort has been made to throw new light 
upon the foundation history of the type in the Perche 
itself. Mr. John Ashton, Continental European corres- 
pondent of ''The Breeder's Gazette," was commis- 
sioned by Mr, Sanders to search French agricultural 
literature from the earliest periods for references to the 
Percheron horse, and if possible secure permission from 
the French authorities to examine all books, records and 
documents contained in the Government archives at 
Paris, including the official entries detailing the registra- 
tion and inspection of stallions bought for the Govern- 
ment stud at le Pin, together with lists of stallions offici- 
ally approved and subsidized by the Government prior to 
the Stud Book period for service in the region in which 
the modern Percheron was evolved. 

Fortunately this extensive and painstaking inquiry met 



4 publisher's announcement 

with the hearty cooperation of French librarians and the 
Ministry of Agriculture, every facility being extended, 
even to the point of permission to photograph original 
entries of great historical importance. The condensed 
results of months of patient investigation along this line 
are presented in this volume; and it is confidently be- 
lieved that this portion of the work constitutes one of the 
most valuable contributions made in many years to the 
history of any of the existing improved breeds of live 
stock. It is demonstrated that the Percheron horse has 
existed as a distinct type from very ancient times, and 
that much that has been accepted — on insufficient evi- 
dence — in the past relating to the development of the 
breed since the beginning of the nineteenth century must 
now be discarded as mere tradition. 

The facts, brought to light here for the first time, seem 
to contradict flatly the part so long alleged to have been 
played by Arabian blood in the production of the latter- 
day Percheron; and while this diligent study of old 
records — apparently never heretofore examined by those 
assuming to write early Percheron history — may be re- 
garded as destructive to that extent in its operation, the 
student will not fail to note that in place of what now 
goes by the board as unsubstantiated there is supplied a 
complete, constructive, tangible, authentic official set of 
facts that place underneath the foundations of the Perche- 
ron Stud Book of France the solid rock of verified Gov- 
ernment records, indisputable and convincing. If any 
doubt has heretofore existed as to when, where and by 
whom the increase in weight of the Percheron horse was 
undertaken, such questions need no longer be raised. 

This portion of the story should be of absorbing interest 
to all students of the development of Percheron types, and 
represents a sincere and exhaustive effort to get at the 



PUBLISHER S ANNOUNCEMENT 5 

truth regardless of what the facts might show. Breeders 
and owners of Percheron horses not only in America, but 
in France as well, will no doubt welcome the results of 
this study. 

Mr. Sanders' own personal recollections of the Ameri- 
can Percheron trade go back to his boyhood days on an 
Iowa farm, his father, th& late James H. Sanders, having 
been one of the earliest introducers of the blood in the 
trans-Mississippi country, and subsequently compiling the 
initial volumes of the Percheron Stud Book of America. 
In the work of gathering material for the early American 
period the aid of the late James H. S. Johnstone, 
author of "The Horse Book", was asked and obtained, 
many interesting facts relating to the pioneer breeders, 
importers and equine celebrities of the old days being 
developed as a result of extended traveling in various 
parts of the United States. 

As the present day was approached the services of Mr. 
Wayne Dinsmore, Secretary of the Percheron Society of 
America, were invoked, and with the permission of the 
directors of that organization he utilized the records 
and the facilities of his office to collect, analyze and 
arrange a great mass of important and interesting data 
detailing the wide expansion of Percheron breeding in 
America during the past forty years. 

It will of course be understood that this work is com- 
piled primarily for the benefit of American readers. Con- 
sequently the details of French production since the 
establishment of the Percheron Stud Book of France in 
1883 have not been extensively discussed. 

The authors are aware that their work is by no means 
perfect. Errors of omission and commission are bound to 
creep into any volume of this sort, involving as it does 
explorations in new fields, and the handling of an almost 



6 publisher's announcement 

bewildering array of names and figures. It has been the 
intent and purpose throughout, however, to present the 
facts exactly as found ; and if the work shall be regarded 
as adding somewhat to the general store of knowledge 
concerning the most popular draft horse type in North 
America, the compilers and publishers will be pleased and 
gratified. 



FOUR CYCLES OF PERCHERON HISTORY. 



I The following pen picture covering four distinct periods | 

I in the evolution of the breed of which we write, present- | 

I ing first the famous French "chargers" of the middle ages, | 

I their successors on the heavy coaches of the ante-rail- | 

I way days, the demands of the plow for a weightier type | 

I as the arts of peace advanced, and now the "ton horse" | 

I of modern commerce is taken from the sketch of the | 

I late Mark W. Dunham, written by Mr. Sanders and pub-, | 

I lished last year in his book "At the Sign of the Stock | 

I Yard Inn." It is republished here by request. | 

I "Under a gray old castle's frowning walls a drawbridge | 

I falls across the moat. The trumpets sound. A glittering | 

I cavalcade emerges. Pennons gay and guidons flutter in | 

I the breeze. Steel and silver — corselet, hilt and morion — | 

I glisten in the morning sun, and noble chargers, mostly | 

I white and gray, prance proudly, bearing out into the | 

I medieval world brave belted knights and their retainers | 

I faring forth to meet what ere betides. | 

I "Generations pass: in the far distance the rhyth- | 

I mic beating of heavy hurrying hoofs! It is a highway | 

I builded by the kings of France. To the sound of the | 

I horn and the sharp note of the lash, the great diligence j 

I bearing the royal mails and laden deep with passengers | 

I and their gear comes into view. A rush, a roar of wheels | 

I and the great freighted coach is gone. | 

I "Agriculture calls: down the long furrows see the | 

I shining plowshares deeply driven. The mellow earth | 

I awalzens, and lo, the stored up riches of a fertile field | 

I await the seed. Long is the journey and repeated oft. | 

I From 'early morn to dewy eve' the living shuttles travel, | 

I back and forth; but weight that wearies not is har- | 

I nessed. | 

I "And yet again, last scene of all: a busy modern city | 

I street. Huge vans and trucks are rumbling ever on the | 

I granite blocks. Big grays and blacks march proudly to | 

I the music of a nation's commerce. Power, patience, | 

I dignity personified. Glory be to men who can produce | 

I such prodigies!" | 

l?iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I — THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE. 

Topography of the District — Geological Formation — Water 
Courses — Climatic Conditions — Ancient History — Rotrou 
and the Counts of The Perche — Modern Records Begin — 
Live Stock Husbandry Important — Under the "Grand 
Monarque" — The Eighteenth Century — Long Famous for 
Its Horses — A People Devoted to Their Own— The 
Perche of Today 17-33 

CHAPTER II — PERCHERON PROTOTYPES. 

Some of the Fairy Tales — The Saracenic Rout — Mounts of 
the Crusaders — War Horses of the Middle Ages — The 
Probable Foundation — Normandy Invades The Perche — 
Whence the Percheron? — The Arabian Tradition — An 
Historic Discussion — "The Legendary Kadischi" — Mod- 
ern Arab Crossing Not Mentioned — Is the Percheron a 
Primitive Type? 34-54 

CHAPTER III— THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE 
REVOLUTION. 

Delestang and His History — Lamagdelaine's Prizes — A 
Draft Type at Montdoubleau — Unverified Tradition Ex- 
ploded — Godolphin an English Saddler — Gallipoly a 
Small Turkish Saddle Horse — Error Easily Perpetuated 
— Jean-le-Blanc — The Evidence Summarized — The Breed 
"Modifies Itself" — M. Fardouet Was Right — The Gov- 
ernment Stud — First Draft Stallions at the Haras du 
Pin — Official Notes — Directors and Inspectors Disagree 55-81 

CHAPTER IV— EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN. 

Prizes Stimulate Effort — The National Archives in Evi- 
dence — First Approved Stallions Near Nogent — Grand 
Pierre, Bijou and Le Coq — Liberally Patronized — Big 
Horses in Service — Le Coq Goes to Belgium — More Big 
Gray Horses — Others in Nogent District — In the De- 
partment of Orne — Service for 12 Francs — At Mort- 
agne in the Early '30's — In La Sarthe — Loir-et-Cher — 
A Broad Constructive Policy Continued — Outcrossing 
Exaggerated — As to Color — Passing of the Diligence 
Type — Some Conclusions 82-106 

CHAPTER V— FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA. 

Authentic Records Begin — Alexander's Norman — First Im- 
portation to the States — Ohio Importations of 1851 — 
Normandy, or Pleasant Valley Bill — A Great Career — 
The Holman Horse — Louis Napoleon — Taken to Illinois 
— Acquired by the Dillons — Maryland Importation of 
1853 — Rollin Imported in 1856 — Darby Plains Importa- 
tion of 1857 — Kentucky Importation of 1859 — Massachu- 
setts Importation of 1864 — Gray Duke — Eastern Imports 
of 1866 — First Direct Importation into Illinois — Ohio Ac- 
tive in 1867 107-137 



10 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI— THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870. 

A Profitable Business— Activity in Ohio — The Walters 
Percherons — Old Success Imported — M. W. Dunham En- 
ters the Business — Napoleon Bonaparte — A Lull in 1869 
— Across the Continent — Good Buying for Illinois — Duke 
de Chartres Brings $4,000 — First of the Blood in Wis- 
consin — Dillons' Big St. Laurent — Recapitulation 138-158 

CHAPTER VII— MID-WEST PIONEERS. 

Leaders of the Period — Oaklawn in Front — Home Breeding 
Emphasized — Some Celebrities Described — Drawing 
from the Fountain Head — The Dillons — Ohio Breeders 
of the '70's — The East and the Far West — On the Pacific 
Coast — Dr. W. H. Winter — Daniel Dunham — Eli Hodg- 
son — Stubblefield Importations — Percheron Breeding in 
Other States — James H. Sanders — A Campaign of Edu- 
cation — Foundation of the Stud Book — The Peoria Con- 
vention of 1878 159-187 

CHAPTER VIII— THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED. 

Practical Promotive Work — More Pre-Stud Book Records — 
M. Cheradame — Toulouse, "The Magnificent" — Chocolat 
— The Ducoeurjolys — Pelletier — Moisand — Jouset and 
Mitau — Old Records Brought to Light — Fardouet and 
Caget — Michel Fardouet — Celestian Caget — The Chou- 
anards and La Touche — The Perriots — The Tacheaus — 
Charles Paul Avelinc: — Credit Due These Pioneers — 
Founding of the Stud Book — Meager Data at First 
Available — The Case of Jean-le-Blanc 188-232 

CHAPTER IX— THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80'S. 

Distribution by States — Oaklawn Breeding Operations — The 
Brilliant Blood — The Story of Old Brilliant — Brilliant 
1271 — Prepotency of Brilliant Blood — Developments at 
Oaklawn — Results Despite Difficulties — Great Mares of 
Oaklawn Stud — Oaklawn Influence — Oaklawn Sales of 
'80's — ^Mr. Dunham's Influence — Ellwood Green — Sires 
Used by Mr. Ellwood — Cheri and Seducteur — Mares in 
Stud — Influence on Other Studs — Noted Sires Sold — 
Summary of Ellwood Operations — Daniel Dunham's 
Work — The Dillons — Sires Used — Dillons in the Show- 
ring — Mark W. Coad 233-270 

CHAPTER X— OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD. 

Log Cabin Farm — Edgewood Farm — John W. Akin — Minne- 
sota Breeders — Leonard Johnson — Founding Maple 
Point Stud — Leading Sires Used — The Johnson Mares — 
Showyard Record — Minnesota Percheron Horse Company 
— George E. Case — Wisconsin's Leaders — Wauwatosa 
Farm — Kellogg Stock Farm — The Kellogg Stallions — 
Noted Mares — Influences on Other Studs — Reserve 
Forces in Illinois — Stetson & Sons — Mares Owned and 
Colts Raised — The Stetson Sires — Valuable Brood Mares 
— ^Degen Bros. — George S. Hanna — E. Hodgson & Son — 
Ohio Breeders — Jones Bros. — Samuel Kendeigh — M. V. 
Bates — E. J. Condit — Iowa's Percheron Breeders — Iowa 
Breeders of the '80's — Maplehurst Stock Farm — J. H. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 

Barnett — Other Breeders — Further Consideration of 
Illinois — Pre-eminence of McLean Co., 111. — In Taze- 
well — In LaSalle — Other Minnesota Breeders — Other 
Breeders in Wisconsin — Other Michigan Breeders — 
Other Breeders in New York — Percheron Breeding in 
Pennsylvania — Progress in Indiana — In the Sunflower 
State — In Missouri — Other States 271-337 

CHAPTER XI — AN ERA OP PROFOUND DEPRESSION. 

What the Figures Show — Oaklawn Farm — Brilliant — 'Other 
Oaklawn Sires — Oaklawn Mares and Colts — Oaklawn 
Sales and Leases — The Great Leader — Other Illinois 
Breeders — New Blood — Progress in Iowa — Lakewood 
Farm — Developments in Ohio — Pleasant Valley Farm — 
Other Ohio Breeders — In Minnesota — Belleview Farm — 
Willard & Fuller — In Wisconsin — In Kansas 338-384 

CHAPTER XII— THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY. 

The Actual Increase — Pedigree Publication Suspended — New 
Association Formed — Old Records Acquired — Influence 
of Dealers and Importers — The Development by States 
— In Illinois — Important Illinois Dispersions — New 
Studs Founded in Illinois — Progress in Iowa — Ohio's 
Contributions — Progress in Kansas — Progress in Minne- 
sota — The Hoosier Horsemen — Wisconsin's Workers — 
Work in Nebraska — North Dakota's Great Range 
Project — Progress in South Dakota — In Other States 
— Michigan — Missouri — Pennsylvania — ^Virginia — O. E. 
Jordan — Selma Farm — ^California — Colorado — Montana — 
Washington — New York — Growth of the Percheron So- 
ciety of America — A Canadian Association — Percheron 
Breeding In Canada 385-475 

CHAPTER XIII— DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OP 
PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Percherons in the South — Horse Stock of the United States 
— Percherons the Leading Draft Type — War Exports — 
French Embargo on Exports — American Breeding 
Stimulated — Commercial Market for Draft Horses — 
Geldings at the Show 476-508 

CHAPTER XIV— SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 

Edmond Perriot — James M. Fletcher — W. E. Prichard — E. B. 
White — J. Ll DeLancey — J. O. Singmaster — W. S. Dun- 
ham — J. B. McLaughlin — W. S. Corsa — A. L. Robison & 
Son — Lee Brothers — Dan Augstin's Story — U. L. Bur- 
dick — On the Northwestern Range — Management of 
Foals and Yearlings — Feeding Alfalfa — Importance of 
Soundness — Growing Purebred Percheron Fillies — Buy- 
ing, Feeding and Selling Draft Geldings — Permanent 
Marks for Percherons 509-588 

CHAPTER XV— BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING. 

The Breeding of Leading Winners — Breeding of Prizewin- 
ners at French Shows — Breeding of International Prize- 
winners 589-602 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



American buyers in the Perche, 

385. 
Amorita 61314, 587. 
Armour six-horse team, 505. 
Augstin, D., 381. 
Aveline, Charles, 224. 
Aveline, Charles, residence at La- 

Touche, 228. 
Aveline, Joseph, colts at pasture, 

102. 
Aveline, Joseph, 232. 
Aveline, Joseph, farm at Dorceau, 

198. 
Aveline, Louis, 224. 
Aveline, Louis, farm at La Croch- 

etiere, 226. 
Avery, Henry, 333. 
Ayres, M. L., 363. 

Bamboucheur (6201'8), 407. 

Bar U Ranch, 473. 

Beckett, James D., 288. 

Bell§me forest, 21. 

Bell, Samuel, 467. 

Bell, William, 467. 

Besigue (19602), 395. 

Bigelow, Timothy C. 116. 

Bigelow, Timothy L., 116. 

Big Jim, 499. 

Bignon, A., farm at Aulnays, 192. 

Bonheur's studies of Voltaire, Ju- 
piter and Confident, 246. 

Bonheur's study of Brilliant 1271, 
242. 

Boullay-Chaumard, M., 190. 

Bourdin, E., 230. ~~---- 

Bowman, T. B., 333. 

Branding irons, 583. 

Briggs, H. A., 260. 

Brilliant 1271 and group of get, 
240. 

Burdick, U. L., 497. 

Calypso 25017 (44577), 393. 
Carnot 66666 (66666), 411. 
Castile 78956 (64553), 513. 



Chappels, Anatole, 232. 

Chappels, A., farm at La Plessis, 

202. 
Chouanard, Charles, 210. 
Chouanard, Charles, farm at La 

Bretonnerie, 226. 
Chouanard, Emile, 210. 
Chouanard, Jules, 210. 
Chouanard, Maurice, 210. 
Chouanard, Maurice, residence at 

La Roustiere. 194. 
ColegTove, Arthur, 497. 
Coleman, C. R., 315. 
Cook, A. W., 315. 
Corsa, W. S.. 415. 
Crouch, G. R., 441. 
Crouch, J., 441. 
Curtiss, Charles F., 415. 

Danforth, William, 497.' 
DeLancey, J. L., 260. 
DeLancey, T. L., 260. 
Delchester Farms, mares in hay- 
field, 509. 
Diligence, 110. 

Diligence horses of 1830, 17. 
Dillon, Ellis, 136. 
Dillon, Isaiah, 136. 
Dillon, Levi, 136. 
Dorothy B. 122455, 521. 
Dragon 52155 (63516), 425. 
Ducoeurjoly, D., farm of, 228. 
Ducoeurjoly, Desire, 196. 
Dunham, Daniel, 164. 
Dunham, Mark W., 160. 
Dunham, W. S'., 160. 

Ellwood, L L., 256. 
Ellwood, W. L., 256. 
Erica (68318), 407. 

Fair Hope 117379, 577. 
Fardouet, Alphonse, 72. 
Fardouet, Michel, 72. 
Fardouet, M., farm at Le Bois 
Joly, 206. 



14 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 



Feeding colts, rack for, 567. 
Feuillard, Ansbert, 196. 
Fletcher, James M., 164. 
Fullington, Charles, 128. 
Fullington, James, 128. 

Gallipoly entry in Government 

records, 62 
George P. 82495, 529. 
Georgiana 28622, 451. 
Girard, Alphonse, 230. 
Godolphin entry in Government 

records, 62. 
Government certificate of 1822, 

87. 
Gray Billy, 118. 
Grenat 80714 (71632), 553. 
Guy, Henry, 126. 

Helen Helix 97206, 521. 

Hamelin, Adrien, 196. 

Haras du Pin, chateau and court- 
yard, 76. 

Haras du Pin, stallions in service, 
88. 

Harris, Edward, 108. 

Hermine 102198 (76134), 587. 

Hodgson, Eli, 130. 

Hodgson, M. C, 130. 

Hodgson, "William, 180. 

Holbert, A. B., 415. 

Horace 7884, 359. 

Huisne, pasture on the, 19. 

Humbert, L. H., 415. 

Hurt, C. W., 321. 

Hurt, William, 321. 

Huston, John, 381. 

Hysope, 573. 

Ildefonse 79307 (83004), 521. 
Imprecation 79304 (79214), 425. 
Indivise, Frendi prize-vsrinning 

mare, 480. 
Intime 87219 (83153), 399. 
Ivan 108146, 545. 

Jalap 80583 (85614), 601. 
Jasmine 88573 (85983), 589. 
Joan and colt Julie, 112. 
Joie 105878 (83942), 513. 
Johnson, Leonard, 164. 
Jones, C. M., 126. 
Jones, Milton E., 321. 
Jones, Thomas, 126. 



Keiser, Charles, 495. 
Keiser, S. L, 495. 
Keota Insight 107242, 577. 
Keota Jalap 106186, 545. 
Kontact 87277 (95804)-, 529. 

La Belle 34982, 451. 

Lactine 101472 (100912), 559. 

Lagos 99093 (102389), 589. 

LaFerte 5144, 347. 

LaFerte Bernard — Place Saint Ju- 

lien, 55. 
Lane, George, 471. 
Lee, J. H., 333. 
Legitime 98978 (99389), 537. 
Louis Napoleon, 120. 
Lycee 105934 (102746), 589. 

Mack, 499. 

Martin, Erastus, 126. 

Mauldin, James, 363. 

McCormick, L. J., 288. 

McLaughlin, J. B., 467. 

McMillan, H. G., 389. 

Mortagne, roadway at, 55. 

Moulinet (68017), 480. 

Moulin, L., farm at La Grand 

Champrond, 206. 
Moulin, L., 232. 

Nave, A. P., 381. 

Nicodemus, Ed, 467. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — ^army officers 
inspecting horse stock of dis- 
trict, 58. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — C h a t e a u de 
Saint Jean, 21. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou, market day, 80. 

Nogent-le-R o t r o u — Rue de la 
Charronnerie, 66. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — Rue Saint Hil- 
aire, 66. 

North, C. M., 333. 

Oakley, Charles, 122. 
Orr, W. C, 363. 

Pabst, Fred, 288. 

Palmer, T W., 272. 

Paul Potter's "Great Horse," 36. 

Pellitier, H., of La Bernuche, Ome, 

92. 
Pelleray, C, 196. 
Perche, a farm home in the, 32. 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 



15 



Perche, typical village in the, 29. 

Perche, mares at work in field, 82. 

Perche, scenes in the, 96. 

Perche, mares at work in hayfleld, 
388. 

Perche, two-year-old colts at Ed- 
mond Perriot's, 344. 

Perche, map showing modern 
boundary lines, 25. 

Perche, two snapshots by Mr. San- 
ders in the, 220. 

Percheron mare and colt in an 
Illinois pasture, 359. 

Perriot, Bdmond, 212. 

Perriot, Edmond, chateau of La 
Ronce, 104. 

Perriot, Ernest, 214. 

Perriot, Jr., Ernest, 214. 

Perriot, Jr., Ernest, farm and res- 
idence at L' Archie, 194. 

Perriot. Edmond, farm at Cham- 
peaux, 216. 

Perriot, Ernest, residence at L' 
Orme, 218. 

Perriot, Louis, 212. 

Perriot, Louis, residence at La 
Borde, 218. 

Phillips, G. W., 495. 

Pink 24765 (47513), 399. 

Pink Brilliante 57897, 573. 

Pleasant Valley Bill, 114. 

Poindexter, P. H., 363. 

Powerful 6670 (Bayard 7519), 347. 

Prichard, W. B., 260. 

Rene, Charles, 190. 
Richard, E., farm at La Gero- 
merie, 100. 



Rigot. M., 230. 
Roseland 87467, 537. 

Sanders, James Harvey, 176. 
Seducteur 8850 (7087), 258. 
Selma Farm, mares at work, 461. 
Singmaster, C. F., 315. 
Singmaster, J. O., 315. 
Slack, Louis, 497. 
Stetson, Ezra, 272. 
Stubblefield, George W., 389. 
Stubblefleld, L. P., 381. 
Suzanne (81567), 395. 

Tacheau, A., breeding farm at La 

Pellois, 198. 
Tacheau, Auguste, 222. 
Tacheau, Jr., A., residence at Le 

Burin, 200. 
Tacheau, Jr., Auguste, 222. 
Taylor, Charles R, 321. 
Thibault, M., 232. 
Thibault, M., farm at La Bourdon- 

niere, 202. 
Tonnac Villeneuve — director of 

Haras, 74. 
Turquoise 110346, 559. 

Valle, M., farm of, 107. 
Vendome 116151, 553. 
Villette-Gate, M.. 230. 

Walters, W. T., Percherons, 140, 

142, 144, 146, 148. 
Walters, W. T., 138. 
War horses of the Middle Ages, 

38-40. 
White, E. B., 471. 
Wilson, J. E., 288. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE. 

One of the smallest provinces of old France, the 
district known as The Perche, derived its name from 
the ancient forest, Perticus Saltus, which originally 
covered almost the entire region. Vestiges of this 
great wooded tract exist today in the forests of 
Belleme, Reno and Du Val. What is now known as 
The Perche Forest in Normandy was also once a part 
of it. During the time of the Gauls the province was 
too thickly wooded to permit of much settlement. 
Some time about the beginning of the ninth century 
the monks are said to have made clearings in the 
forests; but long before this period it is probable 
that restricted tracts had been brought under culti- 
vation in some of the more favored valleys. 

Topography of the District. — The Perche really 
comprises a. region lying between Normandy on the 
north and west, Maine on the southwest, Vendome 
and Dunois on the south, and the Beauce country, 
the so-called granary of France, on the east. If 
viewed from an aeroplane, one would observe that 
the relatively prominent relief of the district, com- 
pared with the level countries that surround it, helps 
to solve the problem of how the Percheron breed 
came to be evolved within such a comparatively 



18 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

small region. The lowest point of the territory is 
at Theil on the Huisne, about 270 feet above sea level, 
and the highest town is Mortagne, at an altitude of 
about 750 feet. The shape of The Perclie is that of 
an ellipse, the dimensions about 53 by 66 miles. 
Within this elliptical tract there are now fifty can- 
tons. Only foals which are the progeny of regis- 
tered dams and sires of the Percheron breed and 
born in one of these cantons are eligible for registra- 
tion at the present time in the Percheron Stud Book 
of France. 

Geological Formation. — Geologically speaking, 
this territory is characterized essentially by creta- 
ceous formations of the Cenomanian Stage, and is a 
part of the Secondary Aureole Period, circumscribed 
by the Tertiary deposits of the Paris Basin. This 
Cenomanian Stage, which dominates all over The 
Perche, is subdivided into sand and Rouen chalk. It 
is the Rouen chalk that plays so important a role 
in the geological formation of the region. It forms 
all the length of the broad valley of the Huisne, as 
well as that of the Sarthe in its upper reaches. Of 
course the bottom-lands of all the valleys are com- 
posed of alluvial soils and are very fertile. Going 
westward from Mortagne and Belleme, Jurassic for- 
mations are encountered, and it is a curious fact that 
on these soils we are apt to meet with Percheron 
horses having lighter frames than those raised in the 
Huisne and Sarthe valleys. While the soils of The 
Perche vary somewhat in the various districts, they 
are chiefly of clayey and clayey-loam texture. Sandy 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OP THE PERCHE 19 

soils are met with occasionally. In color they vary 
from black to a ruddy chocolate. 

Near Belleme a limestone suitable for building 
purposes is found. Free-stone or sandstone is quar- 
ried at various places in The Perche. A consider- 
able quantity of marl is also available, and it has 
been a custom for hundreds of years for the farmers 
to spread this over their fields. Formerly there 
were many iron mines, chiefly at Logny, but they 
are now exhausted. The sandstone quarries of Keg- 
malard and Logny are still worked, this stone being 
used for building purposes. Lime-kilns are operated 
in some districts. 

Water Courses. — The Perche is especially well 
watered. It is rare that one encounters so many 
flowing streams in such a small country. This fact 
contributes in a great measure to the excellence of 
its pastures. There are six rivers: The Huisne, 
which rises to the north of Belleme, and flows into 
the Sarthe, near the town of Le Mans, is about 77 
miles long; the Sarthe empties itself into the Loire, 
after a course of 165 miles; the Eure is 82 miles 
long, the Avre 41 miles, the Iton about 60 miles, and 
the Loire about 123 miles. Not all the mileage of 
these rivers is in The Perche. There are no less than 
twenty-seven small tributaries or rivers of the second 
class. Many of these streams w^ould be designated 
merely as creeks in the United States. It is the 
Huisne, in its meandering semi-circular route around 
Belleme, Pervencheres, Corbon, Nogent-le-Eotrou 
and La Ferte Bernard, which serves as the chief col- 



20 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

lecting medium of the waters that descend the green 
hills of The Perche. A study of the map will reveal 
the tortuous course of this river; it receives many- 
rivulets in its passage, and after it leaves Nogent its 
volume increases perceptibly until it empties itself 
into the Sarthe. 

Climatic Conditions. — The surface of the land is 
considerably broken, being traversed by numerous 
valleys, chief of which are the basins of the Huisne 
and the Sarthe. There is some timber along the 
banks of the streams and on the numerous low hills. 
The forests which border the rim of The Perche 
serve to condense the atmospheric vapors, and con- 
sequently the precipitation is abundant. The climate 
is rather humid and conducive to the growth of 
grass. The mean precipitation is 884 millimeters. 
The mean annual temperature, according to the 
Scientific Commission of the Department of Orne, 
is 49.1° Fahrenheit. The wooded area forms 16 per 
cent of the total land, a proportion which corres- 
ponds to the average of all the area of France. The 
natural "prairies", where most of the horses are 
pastured, occupy the bottom-lands of the valleys. 

Ancient History. — The records of the first settle- 
ments of this region, Belleme, Mortagne and Nogent- 
le-Rotrou, are lost in remote antiquity. The most 
ancient Count of The Perche was Agombert, who 
lived during the time of Louis the Debonair, about 
830 or 840 A. D. When the Eomans overran Gaul 
The Perche was conquered by one of the lieutenants 
of Caesar, who in his "Commentaries" mentions 




IN THE FOREST OF BELLliME, OBITE. 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 21 

particularly the warlike character of its inhabitants 
under their chief, Veridiouix, who caused the Roman 
generals no little work. In the middle of the ninth 
century the Norsemen invaded The Perche and laid 
waste the country. 

In 1135 Nogent, at that time built of wood, was 
destroyed by fire. About 1358 it fell into the hands 
of the English, but the Treaty of Bretigny on May 8, 
1360, gave the town back to the French, and in 1361 
it was turned over once more to its seigneurs. Once 
or twice after that date the English obtained pos- 
session of it. It was not until the year 1230 that 
The Perche came under the French crown. From 
the end of the sixteenth century up to the time of 
the French Revolution — a period of about 200 years 
— the province enjoyed a profound peace, and agri- 
culture and stock-breeding made much progress.* 

Rotrou and the Counts of The Perche. — The Counts 
.of The Perche were first known under the title of 
Seigneurs de Belleme. During the Middle Ages the 
history of the province was characterized by contin- 
uous strife and bloodshed. During a part of the 
eleventh century there was internal warfare waged 
by Robert II of Belleme against the Rotrous, Counts 



*The Abb$ Fret, the best known historian of The Perche of mod- 
ern times, in his "Antiquites et Chroniques Percheronnes" relates that 
after about two centuries of profound peace an insurrection took place 
at Mortagne, the capital of The Perche, on the 23rd of July, 1789, the 
mob taking possession of all the registers of the excise and burning 
them in the market place. He then relates how a handful of rioters 
did terrible things at Nogent, destroying by flre, among other articles 
in the public square, precious manuscripts and authentic documents, 
charters and other matter indispensable to the history of the town. 
He affirms that the origin of Nogent goes back to the greatest an- 
tiquity, and every other historian of The Perche corroborates that 
statement. 



22 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of The Perclie and Mortagne. According to Odo- 
lant-Desnos, the Eotrous, Seigneurs of Nogent, date 
from before 853. The chief of these was Rotrou III, 
whom the historians call Rotrou II. He was first 
Count of Mortagne and Seigneur of Nogent, became 
later Count of The Perclie, and has been surnamed 
The Great. As a warrior he distinguished himself 
by his feats against the Saracens in Spain, conquer- 
ing several cities and taking many castles in the 
year 1089. In 1095 he left for the Crusades with 
Robert III, Duke of Normandy, who left his duchy 
in pawn with Henry of England for the sum of 
10,000 silver pounds. Rotrou commanded the tenth 
corps of the army of the Christians at the siege of 
Antioch. On the 15th of July, 1099, he took part in 
the siege and capture of Jerusalem. The following 
year he returned to The Perche. 

When Rotrou III came back he soon got into trou- 
ble with his mortal enemy, Robert of Belleme, known 
later to history as ''Robert the Devil." In spite of 
the fact that Rotrou had allied himself with Henry, 
King of England, by marrying one of his daughters, 
he could not avoid falling into Robert's hands on two 
occasions. Later he went once more to fight the In- 
fidels in Spain. When he returned in 1109 he founded 
the Abbey of Tyron, which became in 1140 the cele- 
brated Abbey of La Trappe. He founded other re- 
ligious orders in The Perche. Fighting in Nor- 
mandy, he was killed at the siege of the Grosse Tour 
of Rouen. The body was brought to the church of 
St. Denis at Nogent, and buried. This ancient town, 






^ Fecamp^ 

Etreta't"g 



Dieppe; 



St I N 0- I N F 

Yvetot 





Beauv^ais ^ i Q/p 



Dreux} 

E T 



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f^'^ )^^\-**°sent^£ \j R E yET \Lly6 R 

/idsfloti^ou 

"V 

v 

S A\R\T H EJ/ ^ fe::""-:^ /ChateaudumI 

l-eMans 



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MAP OF A SECTION OF NORTHWESTERN FRANCE, SHOWING LOCATION OF 
NOGENT-LE-ROTROU AND THE PERCHERON COUNTRY IN REFERENCE TO 
THE SEACOAST AND THE CITY OF PARIS. 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OP THE PERCHE 23 

now known as Nogent-le-Rotrou, is, and for years 
past has been, the Percheron capital. 

Charles Du Hays, Master of Horse to Napoleon 
III, in his ' ' Le Cheval Percheron, ' ' quoting from the 
Abbe Fret, the author of a history of the province 
of The Perche, and accepting as correct the state- 
ment that Rotrou and other nobles participating in 
the Crusades brought back stallions from the Holy 
Land, asserts that they were largely used. This 
may be true. Indeed, it is by no means improbable, 
and yet a careful reading of the "Suite Chrono- 
logique des Seigneurs de Nogent-le-Rotrou" by Odo- 
lant-Desnos, published in 1785, which includes a de- 
tailed account of the homecoming of that knight, 
yields no reference to his having brought back Ara- 
bian horses. Indeed, we have searched in vain in 
early French literature for any specific statements 
to substantiate the generally accepted dicta on this 
point. 

Modem Records Begin. — As war gradually ceased 
to be the chief business or diversion of the great 
nobles and landed proprietors the gentler arts of 
agriculture naturally received more attention, and 
it followed, as a matter of course, that efforts were 
finally made to increase the value of the horse for 
farm purposes. Louis XI (1461-1483) first curbed 
the power and fighting spirit of the great feudal 
barons and war lords who had for so long made 
France a hotbed of internal strife, and he asserted 
the majesty of centralized authority. 

Although we have made diligent search through 



24 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a great variety of old books and manuscripts relat- 
ing to tlie past history of The Perche, we have onlj^- 
been able to find occasional definite references to 
agricultural operations as related to horse-breeding. 
There is an original manuscript in the National Li- 
brary entitled "Memoire sur la Comte du Perche en 
1 'annee 1698, ' ' from which we may quote as follows : 

''The meadows and pastures are very good, espe- 
cially in the following places: Oirs, Couilimert, St. 
Quentin, La Mesniere, St. Julien and Barville on the 
Herinne and the Sarthe; and Regmalard, Dorceau, 
Conde, Condeau, Mesle and Tlieil, several of which 
are on the river Huisne. But the high lands are not 
very good. . . . These lands, however, are not 
altogether useless, for in some cantons sheep are 
fattened on the higher lands, while in other cantons 
such as those of Logny, Lemage and Neuilly, where 
this rough land is better than in the other cantons, 
cows and oxen are fattened thereon. The sheep and 
cattle fattened in The Perche are driven to Paris, to 
the markets of Sceaux and Poissy." 

''The county is so ancient that its origin cannot 
be found. It was one of the first provinces to be 
established by our kings after the conquests of the 
Gauls. 

"The Election of Mortagne comprises alinost all 
of the province of the Perche; it was created by 
Charles the Ninth, King of France, Aug., 1572. 

"The Manors of Belleme and Nogent. — Belleme 
has 57 parishes. Nogent is composed of a large 
borough and 40 parishes. There are 1,300 men in the 
borough. There are in all the parishes of the Elec- 
tion of Mortagne 62,692 souls." 

Live Stock Husbandry Important. — On page 386 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 25 

of this old manuscript we find the following interest- 
ing paragraph: 

"The Raising of Colts and other Animals. — 
Money enters the province by the following channels : 
the sale of colts, fat cattle and sheep, butter, poultry 
and eggs which are taken to the Paris markets. As 
the province of The Perche is only three days from 
Paris (by road), there is no difficulty in transport- 
ing supplies. The wool which the sheep produce is 
also a great help. All this brings in more than 
100,000 pounds a year. The majority of the inhabi- 
tants work at plowing and cultivating the land. ' ' 

The document also tells of big fairs and markets 
at Mauves, Logny, Regmalard and Belleme, and 
three important market days every week at Nogent : 
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We quote again : 

''Mauves is another large borough admirable for 
the fertility of its soil and its situation. The Huisne 
nearly surrounds it to make an island. This is a very 
ancient town to judge from its deeds. Mortagne has 
four fairs a year, and markets every Wednesday 
and Saturday. The Lord of the Manor (Seigneur) 
of Nogent has the right to hold two fairs a year. 
[But he did not do so, we learn, as he was content 
with his three market days a week. — Ed.] The 
women and girls spin flax and wool at home, for 
the manufacture of cloths at Nogent and Mortagne. ' ' 

According to the dictionary of de la Martinier, 
published in 1768, The Perche was well peopled at 
that date, and a great business was done in wheat 
and cattle, the grain being transported to Alengon 
and Brittany by horses. The chief manufactures at 
that time were textiles produced at Mortagne and 
Nogent. These were carried to Paris, Rouen and 



26 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

St. Quentin. It is stated that the breeding of horses 
had at that time reached great proportions, and 
that four famous fairs were held at Mortagne, and 
others at Belleme, Tourouvre, Logny, Regmalard and 
Nogent. Also, that the famous fair of St. Andrew 
at Mortagne attracted buyers from all the surround- 
ing provinces. 

Under the "Grand Monarque." — When we arrive 
at the golden age of Louis XIV, evidence that a 
demand for a somewhat heavier horse had set in is 
presented by a manuscript of that period found 
among the documents pertaining to the government 
haras (or studs) in the National Archives at Paris. 
References appear in this to the character of the 
king's stallions in service at that time in the Per- 
cheron country. Such information as is given con- 
cerning them is reproduced in the footnote.* Of 
these horses it will be noted that one was a Barb, 
one a ''large bay," two were gray and one a sorrel, 
the blood not being mentioned except in the case of 
the ' ' dun-colored ' ' Barb. 



•A list signed by H. Duplessix, Commandant of the Haras, con- 
taining the names, residences, parish, etc., of "private persons with 
whom the stallions of the King of France were placed for their safe 
keeping" : 

In the Election of Mortagne, Jacques Billard, cattle dealer, Mor- 
tagne, is charged with the keeping' of a Barb, dun-colored, 17th June, 
1673. 

M. Ren§ Pez6, surgeon and apothecary at Belleme, is charged with 
a gray stallion, approved May 15th, 1676. 

M. Andre Fristel, St. Julien-sur-Sarthe, is cbarged with a road 
horse, dapple-gray, Oct. 15th, 1677. 

Michel Dreux, Nogent-le-Rotiou, is charged with a sorrel with 
white mane and tail, April 15th, 1678. 

Rene Bouillon, farmer at Beauvais, parish of Iton, is charged with a 
large bay horse, very old and broken-winded. There is a note follow- 
ing this entry saying that the latter stallion must not be allowed to 
serve mares as the Intendant has ordered it to be replaced. This is 
dated May 23, 1674. 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 27 

In that part of the Department of Ome lying in 
Normandy Italian, Barb, and Spanish stallions are 
mentioned, but no reference is made of Arabs. From 
the same document we learn that "M. de Morangis 
has visited all the stallions in the district," finding 
that "there are many beginning to show signs of 
old age, and that it would be better to replace them 
by more vigorous and heavier sires; the mares of the 
region are too small." He remarks that ''as soon 
as the colts are six months old the farmers sell them 
to buyers coming from outside districts," and that 
"this method results in the money staying in the 
country. ' ' This report was then made to the Secre- 
tary of State : 

"He has visited all the stallions. There are some 
fine ones descended from the stallions of the King 
that would soon populate the region .if the farmers 
would not sell them at 30 months old. Nothing 
stays in the country except those which certain gen- 
tlemen are careful to raise and mature. The major- 
ity of the King 's stallions are too old ; a few private 
persons have replaced them by others. 

"It would be very desirable if the King would 
furnish about six more stallions of heavier build. 
The Barbs are getting colts with too weak limbs." 

Notwithstanding this criticism of the royal stal- 
lions it is asserted that under Louis XIV The Perche 
still maintained that high reputation as a nursery 
of good horses which it had apparently enjoyed 
since the Middle Ages, and the stage-coach and 
carrying companies were steadily increasing their 
purchases in the district. Speed with heavy loads 
was of course the prime requirement in front of the 



28 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

lumbering diligence before the advent of the rail- 
way carriage, and apparently horses of the right 
stamp were to be found in this famous old horse- 
breeding province. 

The Eighteenth Century. — The first important 
document that the archives of the Orne furnish is 
a register, dated 1718, entitled, "Revue de juments 
propres a porter des poulains, et a proximite des 
gardes etalons, designees par le poil et les noms des 
paroisses et des habitants auxquelles elles appartien- 
nent, avec 1 'observation de celles qui ont ete trouvees 
pleines la presente annee." This referred to the 
brood mares in the Generality of Alengon, which in- 
cluded the Election of Mortagne in The Perche. For 
all the Generality, which includes a portion of Nor- 
mandy, there were 6,278 brood mares; of these 2,801 
were in foal. In the Election of Mortagne alone, for 
the year 1751, there were 1,735 brood mares, and of 
this number 661 were found in foal. 

Later in the eighteenth century breeding opera- 
tions in The Perche, as well as in other parts of 
France, assumed greater importance. In 1754, ac- 
cording to statistics (Archives Nationales) compiled 
in conformity with the orders of the Marquis de 
Voyer on fairs and markets in The Perche and Nor- 
mandy, we find that Mortagne had four fairs a year, 
but it was not possible to ascertain the number of 
horses sold. Belleme had also four annual fairs, 150 
to 300 head of horses being sold at each fair. No- 
gent had a market every Saturday for the disposal 
of horses, 50 to 60 entires and about 20 mares chang- 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OP THE PERCHE 29 

ing hands each week. At the fair held at Laigle, 
July 11, 300 head of horses were disposed of, and 
at the fair held on the first Friday in September 
220 head were sold. At a third fair at the same 
place on the 12th of November no less than 550 horses 
were sold. 

In an old brochure by P. Bruyant entitled, "No- 
gent-le-Eotrou et ses environs, " it is stated that the 
chief local industry, the manufacture of bolting 
cloth, began to decline in 1774, due primarily to the 
shipwreck of the "Nogent-le-Rotrou" with a cargo 
of cloth, the son of the owner of the vessel and of 
the industry, Rene Gullier, being drowned and his 
father ruined. ' ' But, ' ' says the author, ' ' fortunately 
the development of the breeding of Percheron horses 
commenced to compensate for the decline of this 
local industry.'* 

Long" Famous for Its Horses. — Old letters written 
by residents of The Perche and still conserved in 
the government archives at Paris show that from 
very early periods the province has been courted as 
a producer of good horses. In fact, its fame in this 
regard led to frequent spoliation, numerous raids be- 
ing made by marauders who evidently knew in ad- 
vance where good mounts were to be had. During 
the civil war known as the Fronde, under the minor- 
ity of Louis XIV (1648-1653), both the party of 
Mazarin and that of the nobles made frequent incur- 
sions into this region, primarily for the purpose of 
carrying off horses. History tells us that Beaufort, 
the warlike grandson of Henry IV of France, entered 



30 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The Perclie in 1652, ' ' striking terror everywhere and 
stealing horses." 

In a letter in the National Library, Paris, dated 
March 7, 1628, and written by one Michel Denyau, 
a notary of Montdonbleau, we read: "The Perche 
has suffered very much; the army has carried off the 
majority of our mares." In another written June 
7, 1651, the writer complains: "The gendarmerie 
has ruined everything in The Perche, and publicly 
stolen everything H 'calne across in the way of 
horses. . . . M. de Villir informs me that the 
gendarmerie has ruined everything in the Chartres 
country and stolen the horses." 

Still further confirmatory of the assertion that 
The Perche has always been pre-eminently a region 
fitted to the raising of live stock, and especially 
horses, we find the following eighteenth century let- 
ter from the Intendant of Alengon to the Intendant 
of Tours on the subject of rumors relative to the 
cornering of the wheat crop: 

"Have no faith, sire, in the reputation for an 
abundance of wheat which we are said to possess. 
I have already had the honor of calling your atten- 
tion to the fact that in all the Election of Alengon 
there is not produced, enough wheat to feed us three 
months. Our culture consists in grass and hay to 
fatten our steers, which we get from Poitou, and to 
raise very fine horses, which make our principal 
commerce." 

A People Devoted to Their Own.^All the world 
has wept with Longfellow over the fate of the 
Acadian farmers of Grand Pre. The attachment of 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 31 

the French people to the soil upon which they have 
lived and loved is indeed proverbial. We in Amer- 
ica have before us the fine illustration of the thrifty, 
home-keeping habitants of the lower St. Lawrence. 
This trait is strongly marked among the expatriated 
French, but when we come to those actually born 
and bred under the lilies of Old France it assumes 
the form of that passionate devotion to country whicJi 
finds ready and tragic demonstration whenever the 
call to arms is sounded. 

From time whereof the memory of man runneth 
not to the contrary this adherence to things which 
have been their own for generations has marked par- 
ticularly the character of the farmers of provincial 
France. The Abbe Fret, one of the chief historians 
of The Perche, referring to the habits of the people 
of this province before the revolution, said: 

' ' Each village family, free from all ambition, occu- 
pied itself with its purely domestic affairs, and rare-' 
ly lost to view the church steeple of its own re- 
spective parish. Each individual, content with the 
lot apportioned by Providence, desired neither great- 
ness nor riches and the village church-yard held 
within its bosom the ashes of ten generations; for 
it was an honor to share the last resting place with 
one 's forefathers just as they had shared their lega- 
cies." 

The Perche of Today.— After the Revolution The 
Perche, together with all the other ancient provinces 
of France, was divided into departments. Thus we 
find The Perche today comprises the departments of 
Orne, Sarthe, Eure-et-Loir and Loir-et-Cher. Orne 



32 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and Sarthe include the greater part of the territory, 
bnt Eure-et-Loir, in which the city of Nogent-lo- 
Rotrou is situated, is perhaps of the greatest impor- 
tance so far as the Percheron breed is concerned. 
Loir-et-Cher has the least territory in The Perche, 
and yet the neighborhood of Montdoubleau and 
Savigny-sur-Bray has always been famous for pro- 
ducing fine draft mares of true Percheron character. 
The birthplace of the modern type is found within 
a radius of 18 or 20 miles around Nogent, a territory 
which includes a little of all four of the departments. 
It should here be observed that not one of these 
departments in its entirety is found in The Perche. 
For example, a part of Orne is situated in what has 
long been known as Normandy. The great breed- 
ing centers of the Percheron race at this date, and 
in fact for many years past, have been Nogent-le- 
Rotrou in Eure-et-Loir, La Ferte Bernard in the 
Sarthe, and Mortagne in Ome. 

What the farmers of The Perche were in the olden 
times so are they today, in so far as relates to their 
devotion to home and land and horses. Their horses 
are a part of their inheritance particularly prized and 
accustomed to the affectionate attention of the entire 
household. Their docility, growing out of this in- 
timate human companionship, is therefore an inborn 
trait. 

Such is, in brief, the cradle of the breed of which 
we are to write — a region of green hills and verdant 
vales, populated by a patient, persistent, kindly, 
frugal, shrewd, home-loving people rooted firmly to 



THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 33 

the soil of their fathers and always loyal to the old 
traditions. Around their white ancestral walls old- 
fashioned flowers grow and sweet-scented roses 
bloom, and with each recurring advent of spring 
through dreamy sunny days and under skies of rarest 
blue the apple blossoms fill with beauty all the land 
and spread their fragrance. 

Quaint and picturesque, and true always to itself, 
is this ancient province of The Perche. 



CHAPTER II. 
PERCHERON PROTOTYPES. 

The author of a " History of Ancient Perche, ' ' M. 
Odolant-Desnos, remarks that the French are ' ' more 
inclined to make history than to write it." They 
have developed the Percheron horse, but his real 
origin is involved in almost total obscurity. Only 
speculation can be indulged in concerning his re- 
mote past, and strange to relate, until now few facts 
have been available touching the evolution during 
the past century of the heavy draft type, which, it 
must be understood, is distinctly a modern creation. 
Prior to the Napoleonic wars the Percherons were 
practically all of the diligence type, and it was not 
until about 1820 that a demand for heavier horses for 
agricultural purposes manifested itself sufficiently 
to induce a studied effort at increasing the size and 
weight of the breed. The French government gave 
this movement support, as will be shown presently, 
and the farmers of The Perche persisted in their 
efforts in this direction until the foundation was laid 
upon which was made possible the production, at a 
still later date, of the 2,000-pound horse ultimately 
called for by the American trade. 

This one thing we know: that through centuries 
of vicissitudes the farmers of The Perche clung to 

(34) 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 35 

their good horses, modifying the type from time to 
time to meet changing conditions. From the earliest 
times The Perche farmer has been a producer of 
horses, and not often a buyer from elsewhere. The 
whole temper of The Perche people is opposed 
to the miscellaneous introduction of material from 
the outside. They were a little world unto them- 
selves in this matter of their horses, and relied 
mainly upon their own ability to mold the type from 
within the limits of their own country as new de- 
mands were made. They were always free sellers of 
colts and horses to the adjacent provinces and central 
cities. The usual movement was from within out- 
ward, and not from the outside into the district. An 
understanding of this fact is of fundamental im- 
portance in attempting to grasp the reasons for the 
Percheron's latter-day popularity. It establishes a 
basis for his prepotency in crossing upon mares of 
mixed breeding, such as were commonly found in the 
adjacent provinces of France and especially such as 
were in use in the United States at the time the great 
extension of Percheron breeding in America began. 
Some of the Fairy Tales. — Almost every possible 
equine ancestry has been suggested to explain the 
existence of the Percheron horse. For a long time 
— and even to this day one may find this explanation 
given in encyclopedias and other books of general 
information — it was maintained that the Percheron 
was a descendant of the Brittany draft horse. Some 
writers have gone so far as to advance the theory 
that the Percheron is of English ancestry; others 



36 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

state that the gray color has been obtained by liberal 
crossings with the Boulonnais; many have hinted 
that Flemish blood has entered into its make-up. 
Some writers tells us that the old Bourbonnais horse 
has played a prominent part in the evolution of the 
Percheron; others hint of a possible Spanish source. 
It has even been asserted that the black color which 
became popular about 1880 was due to Nivernais 
blood, while still others have exaggerated the use of 
Picardy mares, introduced to a small extent near 
Montdoubleau near the beginning of the nineteenth 
century, proclaiming them the progenitors of the 
heavy Percheron type. And last, but by no means 
least, there is the commonly accepted teaching that 
the Percheron is of Oriental origin and that even as 
late as the nineteenth century his latter-day excel- 
lence, as well as his predominating color, is to be 
ascribed to the powerful influence of two Arabian 
stallions from the government haras at Le Pin! 

It would be idle to discuss all these in detail. Tra- 
ditions are anybody's creation. Legendary tales 
must pass at their own value. Authentic French 
government records, however, cannot well be got 
around. We shall present some that have apparently 
been heretofore overlooked. 

The Saracenic Rout. — Historians affirm that on 
the day in which Charles Martel, a king of Old 
France, met and overcame the Moslem host of Ab- 
derame upon the field of battle between Tours and 
Poitiers 300,000 Saracens were slaughtered. The 
fate of Christendom was at stake. This was A. D. 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 37 

732. There is more than a suspicion that the num- 
ber slain was placed by the old chroniclers at a figure 
large enough to cover all possible contingencies. 
However, that is not the point. It has always been 
claimed that in this overwhelming rout the invaders 
left behind them many horses of the desert breed, 
and that these were distributed among the troops of 
the French monarch, many of whom lived in the 
regions since known as the Orleanais, Normandy 
and The Perche. 

That Arab blood was left behind at the time of 
this crowning disaster to Oriental arms in western 
Europe no one need doubt; and looking down the 
long vista of the centuries that have come and gone 
since then, we may find in this a possible explanation 
of the combined style and substance of the gray and 
white chargers so numerous in the middle ages 
— a possible cross of the eastern blood-horse upon a 
weightier western type. 

Mounts of the Crusaders. — After the lapse of 
some centuries came the Crusades, when the very 
flower of European chivalry, rallying to the standard 
of the cross, invaded the Holy Land. Numerous ex- 
peditions followed in which the French monarchs 
and nobles took a conspicuous part. It has been 
said that The Perche received liberal introduc- 
tions of Arabian blood following the return of the 
Crusaders, who are alleged to have brought back 
stallions that were freely used to the great profit of 
the horses of the district. Certain writers go so far 
as to name Geoffroy IV, the lord of Montdoubleau, 



38 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Count Roger of Bellesmer, Goroze, the lord of Saint 
Cerney, Courville and Courseroult, and Eotrou, 
Count of The Perche, as personages of high degree 
who aided in this undertaking. It is further alleged 
that while the blood was also brought into other 
provinces it was nowhere so carefully conserved or 
in-bred as in The Perche. All of which may be true, 
or it may be pure invention. The fact is, that if the 
traditions as to the type of horses used by the Cru- 
saders and the knights of the feudal ages handed 
down from one generation of artists to another are 
to be relied upon in any degree whatsoever, it is 
more probable that the Crusaders waged war with 
horses of their own production much better adapted 
to their needs than was any desert stock. 

In concluding his discussion of the effects of these 
expeditions upon European progress the great 
French authority, Michaud, in his "History of the 
Crusades," speaking of various benefits accruing 
to the participating nations, takes up in detail the 
contributions to the arts and industries growing out 
of those conflicts. Among other things he mentions 
the effect of the Crusades on European agriculture 
and tells of wheat and of various fruits and plants 
that were brought back to Europe. But the only 
reference he makes to the horse in this connection is 
in the following sentence: 

"A short time after the first expedition of Louis 
IX Birbar sent to Mainfrey, son of Frederick II, 
several Mogul prisoners with their horses, which 
were of Tartar breed." 




UNFURLING THE SACHEOD ORIFXAMME OF OLD FRANCE.— FROM 
FROISSART'S "CHRONICXES." 




OBUSADERS IN COMBAT.-^FROM FKOISSAHTS "CHBONIOIiES." 



PEECHERON PROTOTYPES 39 

No mention is made of the introduction of Arabian 
stallions. Curiously enough, in a fine edition of this 
work published some years ago, profusely illustrated 
with drawings by the celebrated artist Gustave 
Dore, the French and the English knights, and even 
royalty itself, when mounted are invariably shown 
astride stoutly built white or gray chargers. On 
such a horse Dore delineates Richard Coeur de Lion 
himself in his famous conflict with the Sultan Sala- 
din. Another drawing, entitled "Glorious death of 
Jacques de Maille," shows that famous Knight of 
the Temple going to his death as a noble steed of 
the same type sinks to the earth pierced by many 
arrows. Again in the plate entitled "The Battle 
of Antioch," the European knights are seen gallop- 
ing into action mounted on great wide-quartered 
horses of the same general conformation. So in 
the picture of "200 Knights Attacking 20,000 Sara- 
cens ' ' the big, white chargers are everywhere in evi- 
dence. Most curious of all, perhaps, is the fact that 
Dore in drawing upon his imagination to illustrate 
the celebrated "Apparition of Saint George on the 
Mount of Olives" depicts the patron saint of Eng- 
land mounted on a white horse of the same type and 
fitted out — very properly for a steed used in navi- 
gating the air^ — with a pair of wings! 

War Horses of the Middle Ages. — ^Histories deal- 
ing with the Dark Ages are lamentably lacking in 
horse lore. Breeds were not discussed much in those 
days; only types were mentioned. The draft horse 
had then no place. The war horse dominated every- 



40 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

where. Plowing was done chiefly by oxen. The 
carrying trade was done either by oxen or by pack 
animals. Even as recently as about 200 years ago 
we find from the old manuscripts on The Perche 
that the native horses in that province transported 
on their backs wheat and manufactured goods to 
Paris (three days by road), to Rouen, Brittany and 
other centers. There were three classes of horses 
used — the destrier, or war charger, the palfrey, or 
parade horse, and the roussin, or road horse. These 
designations were in vogue until the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. 

The horse that could serve successfully the pur- 
poses of the mail-clad warriors of feudal times had 
to be up to carrying a lot of weight. With the bur- 
dens put upon them, no weakling steeds would long 
survive the shock of joust or tournament or the more 
serious work of the field of battle. Not only was the 
charger himself sometimes loaded down with his 
own gear — metal-ornamented caparison, with per- 
chance steel breast-plate and head-piece — but in 
the saddle was an athletic rider with his load of iron 
and lance or battleaxe in place. Substance without 
sluggishness was a prime consideration. Activity 
in hand-to-hand combat meant losing or gaining all. 
A horse with proud carriage was demanded to meet 
the state and dignity of nobility and royalty. In 
brief, only a grand good type of horse could meet 
the imperative requirements of those whose lives 
depended so largely upon the weight and mettle of 
their mounts. 




A WAR HORSE OF THE MIDDLE AGES— REPRODUCED FROM FROISSART'S 
"CHRONICLES OF ENGLA^^>, FRANCE AND SPAIN." 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 41 

We have before us as we write a rare old edition 
of that famous literary landmark of the feudal ages, 
"The Chronicles of England, France and Spain," 
written by Sir John Froissart, ''the Herodotus of a 
barbarous age." In it are recounted the most dar- 
ing deeds performed by the belted knights of the 
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. There are prac- 
tically no references in the text to types of horses, 
but there are many quaint wood engravings, repro- 
ductions of old-time delineations, that are not with- 
out interest in this connection. 

Crude as these old drawings may appear, there is 
this to be said about them: they apparently demon- 
strate, in the first place, that gray and white were 
the prevailing, or at least the favorite, colors with 
the French noblesse of that period; and in the second 
place, that the artists were endeavoring to draw 
horses that were not only refined, clean-limbed and 
of good style, but that also possessed marked sub- 
stance. Stout middles and generally thick bodies 
are almost invariably shown. 

It can of course be said that neither Dore nor the 
earlier artists who undertook to depict the type of 
horses in use in the old days had any technical 
knowledge of breeds or types. That is probably 
true. Animal delineation was not their specialty. 
Nevertheless, the fact that many different artists 
working at different periods and illustrating differ- 
ent phases of the military operations of the Cru- 
sades and the Middle Ages, seem to have fixed upon 
practically the same type of horse in nearly every 



42 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

instance, to wit, a gray or white with clean-cut head, 
heavy shoulders, wide back and quarters and, 
usually, clean limbs, is significant. 

Corroborating the work of the artists, at least in 
respect to the color, may be cited a verse from the 
old-time ballad recounting the deeds of valor per- 
formed by one Charles de Trie, a valiant knight of 
The Perche. It was sung by the wandering minstrels 
and ran as follows: 

"Ce biau sire de Trie, 
Sur son blanc destrier, 
Contre gent ennemie 
S'en va guerroyer." 

This old French has been freely translated: 

"On charger white the sire of Trie 
Against the foe has gone to war." 

M. Du Hays, whose great affection for the Per- 
cheron led him to prepare his beautifully-written 
history of the breed, remarks that in his childhood 
he had often been rocked to sleep to the tune of 
this old song, embodying as it did one of the old 
traditions of the province. 

The Probable Foundation. — That the blood of the 
Arab, derived from the spoils of the great Saracenic 
rout, may have been the source of the style and 
beauty of the war horses used several centuries later 
by the Crusaders against the Moslems, is not a vio- 
lent assumption. That the French nobles brought 
back Arabian stallions from the Holy Land is not 
at all improbable. That these were used upon the 
mares of The Perche and other provinces is easily 
possible. But upon neither point is there any real 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 43 

proof. On the other hand, if the testimony handed 
down by artist and historian is of any value what- 
soever, we may safely assert that gray horses of 
noble character and stout conformation were in uni- 
versal favor in France at the time of the Norman 
conquest of England and continued to be popular 
throughout the centuries preceding the introduction 
of the diligence. We conclude, therefore, that the 
strong, active grays with which those heavy vehicles 
were horsed were in all probability the lineal de- 
scendants, the logical successors, of the splendid 
horses that graced the age of chivalry in western 
Europe. This, then, is the likely prototype of the 
Percheron of pre-Napoleonic times, the f ountainhead 
of that courage, soundness, stamina and color which 
has long been his heritage. 

Before passing to our examination of the records 
of the French Grovernment, which throw such a flood 
of light upon the modern type of the breed, we 
present the report of a discussion which took place in 
The Perche many years ago touching the mooted 
question of the remote derivation of the race. This 
has not heretofore been accessible to the general 
public, but was uncovered in the course of our ex- 
tended exploration of the agricultural literature of 
France. In view of its historical importance we 
here give it place. 

Normandy Invades The Perche. — We refer to a 
congress of agriculturists held at Mortagne in 1843, 
a full account of which we find in the official "An- 
nuaire de 1 'Association Normande," the only report 



44 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

extant. It may be stated in passing that this "Asso- 
ciation Normande ' ' was an organization that met at 
different towns in Normandy at stated periods. 
While it was customary to hold the annual congress 
at some town within the borders of the ancient 
province of Normandy, this meeting of 1843 was 
held in the Arrondissement of Mortagne, which is 
wholly in The Perclie and has always formed a part 
of the Generality of Alengon, the capital of the pres- 
ent Department of Orne, in which the town and 
Arrondissement of Mortagne are situated. This de- 
tail explains the reason why the Normandy associa- 
tion, including as it did many members living in 
The Perche, took up the question of the breeding and 
origin of the Percherons, which at that time was 
exciting much interest. We mention this in order 
to record the fact that a certain part of Normandy 
and The Perche encroached the one upon the other, 
and it was only by following up the bibliography of 
French agriculture under the head "Normande" 
that we were able to locate this important report of 
the Mortagne congress of 1843, which we believe has 
not heretofore been presented in connection with the 
study of this subject. In fact, so far as we know, 
this is the first time that the letter of the Abbe Fret 
has been given to the Percheron breeding public of 
the present time in its entirety. We are indebted to 
the "Societe des Savants" for the privilege of exam- 
ining the publications of the "Association Nor- 
mande." 

Whence the Percheron? — Under the head, "Eace 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 45 

de Chevaux Perclierons, ' ' we find the question intro- 
duced as follows: 

''M. de Caumont having put questions concerning 
the breeds, and respecting thePercheron breed in 
particular, a discussion took place upon this subject. 

^'M. Oliver, veterinarian, has the floor. He pointed 
out that formerly the Percheron breed comprised 
two well defined varieties or types; the lighter type 
was known as a 'light draft horse,' and the other, 
which was larger and more material, was called a 
' draft horse. ' He complained that the introduction of 
Picardy mares in the neighborhod of Montdoubleau, 
about 1815, had altered the primitive type of the 
Percheron. He thought that by making the breed 
larger in size they had closed one of their most im- 
portant outlets, viz., the sale of army horses, which 
had been, under the Empire, their most assured out- 
let. He thought also that even the service of dili- 
gences must suffer from the alteration in type which 
he had mentioned, and he expressed a wish that the 
government would take the necessary steps to estab- 
lish the ancient Percheron breed in all its purity. 

" M. Gautier, veterinarian, replying to M. Oliver 
thought tha^ the changes complained of had not 
brought about differences so important in the Per- 
cheron breed as he (M. Oliver) had supposed, be- 
cause if the breed really had become heavier by 
means of the mares of Montdoubleau, these mares 
are none the less Perclierons. M. Gautier thought 
that the railroads would cause great modifications 
in the horse trade, and that in the future the number 
of horses required for diligence purposes would 
diminish according to the development of new rail- 
ways, and that it was necessary for the farmers of 
that region to apply themselves to the production of 
army horses. 



46 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

" M. de Blanpre remarked that castration was not 
in usage in The Perche, and, if Percheron horses 
supported the operation like horses of other breeds, 
it would appear that, according to a generally adopt- 
ed opinion, a profound alteration took place in their 
qualities, etc. 

' ' M. Bigot thought that the farmers of The Perche 
should assure themselves respecting the effect of the 
railroads on the horse trade. The same fears had 
been manifested in Belgium, now covered with a 
network of railroads. ' ' 

The Arabian Tradition. — M. de Blanpre then read 
a letter "from M. I'Abbe Fret, member of the Asso- 
ciation," regarding the origin of the Percheron 
horse. The priest had mentioned the Percheron in 
his well known history of The Perche, but in so 
doing he had quoted from the writings of Deles- 
tang. It was not until this Mortagne congress of 
1843, in the letter herewith reproduced, written to 
be read upon that occasion, that we find anything 
mentioned as to the bringing of Oriental stallions 
back from Palestine by Perche noblemen or as to 
the part such horses possibly played in the history 
of the Percheron. Neither Du Tiajs nor his follow- 
ers have given any quotations from this letter, nor 
has any of them given any account of the debate 
that occurred between the members of the associa- 
tion which took place upon that occasion. The letter 
follows : 

''Within the confines of the ancient province of 
The Perche is raised a breed of horses known by 
the name of Percherons, very distinct both in ex- 
terior and aptitudes ; they have the size, some have 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 47 

fine conformation, and they are, for tlie most part, 
excellent draft horses. In many of the manor houses 
in the lower Perche there is a tradition that has 
been handed down for six centuries to the effect that 
the beauty of this breed was due primitively to its 
crossing with the Arab, of which breed good judges 
find today, in the shape only of certain individuals 
in The Perche, several characteristic traits. 

''At the time of the Crusades, influenced like 
others by the religious zeal which, in this period of 
chivalry, compelled them, as a duty, to arm them- 
selves against the infidels, a large number of the 
Percheron Seigneurs started out for the conquest of 
Palestine, and stayed for more or less time in the 
Orient. Several of these valiant knights errant 
brought back from this far off country some Arabian 
horses of the strain ' kadischi, ' which were employed 
in the improvement of the native breed. Geoffroy IV, 
Seigneur of Montdoubleau, was one of the Crusaders 
who showed the most zeal in propagating this breed. 

"Tradition has left us a pretty good idea of this 
improved breed, formerly in great demand as coach 
horses, which for elegance, conformation, energy, 
style and long service could be compared to the 
breed known as the Limousine. But, by its crossing 
with breeds less perfect, it has successively degen- 
erated, and almost entirely fallen owing to the negli- 
gence and apathy of the landowners, who have done 
nothing whatever so far as selecting individuals for 
breeding purposes is concerned. However, this breed 
is today in such demand by buyers from the adja- 
cent departments that it is becoming a branch of 
commerce of great benefit to the region, and for that 
reason it is necessary that it should be improved. 

' ' The possession of Algeria by France renders the 
importation of Arabs of the 'kadischi' strain ex- 
tremely easy. Assuredly the mixing of this blood 



48 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

with the Percheron blood would produce the same 
results as during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. 
"We ardently trust that the rich landowners of 
The Perche will take the initiative in this worthy 
cause, so that the province, which has produced for 
France this fine breed to which it has given its name, 
will not be disinherited of the glory of having ren- 
dered it its primitive purity."* 

An Historic Discussion. — Inasmuch as the abbe's 



•This document is deemed of such historic interest that we here- 
with supplement our translation of it by presenting the original French : 

"Li'ancienne province du Perche €l§ve dans son sein une race de 
chevaux connu sous le nom de percherons, tres distinct par leur forme 
et d'un bon service; ils ont de la taille, quelques-uns de la figure, et 
sont la plupart d'excellents chevaux de trait. 

"Une tradition, conservee depuis six siecles dans plusieurs chateaux 
du bas Perche, pretend que la beauts de cette race etait due primitive- 
ment 4 son melange avec la race arabe, dont les connaisseurs retrouvent 
encore aujourd'hui, dans la figure seulement de quelques individus 
plusieurs traits caracteristiques. 

"A I'epoque des croisades, entrain^s comme les autres par le zSle 
religieux qui, dans ce temps chevaleresques, leur faisait un devoir de 
s'armer contre les infideles, grand nombre de seigneurs percherons 
partirent pour la conquete de la Palestine, et resterent plus ou moins 
de temps dans I'Orient. Plusieurs de ces preux paladins ramen6rent ds 
ce pays lointain quelques chevaux arabes de la race "kadischi", qui 
furent employes^ a I'amelioration de la race indigene. Geoffroy IV, 
Seigrneur de Montdoubleau, fut un des seigneurs croises qui mirent le 
plus zele a propager cette race. 

"La tradition nous a laisse une idee avantageuse de cette race per- 
fectionnee, qu'on recherchait autrefois pour les attelages de luxe, et 
que Ton comparait pour la grace, I'^legance, la figure, la vigueur, la 
finesse, et la duree, k la race connue sous le nom de limousine. 

Mais, par son melange avec des races molns parfaites, elle a suc- 
cessivement d^genere, et presque enti&rment tombee par la negligence 
et le defaut de lumi&re des proprietaires, qui n'ont apporte aucun soin 
dans le choix des sujets propres k la perpStuer dans le pays. 

"II serait cependant d'autant plus important de perfectionner cette 
race, qu'elle est aujourd'hui tr&s recherchge des departements voisins, 
et qu'elle prend une branche de commerce tr&s avantageuse pour 
le pays. 

"La possession de I'Algerie par la Prance rend extrgmement facile 
I'importation au Perche des chevaux arabes de la race de "kadischi." 
Assurfiment le melange des ce sang avec le sang percheron produira 
les memes resultats qu'aux XI et XII si&cles. 

"Nous formons des voeux ardents pour que quelques riches pro- 
prietaires du Perche prennent I'initiative dans cette honorable entre- 
prise, afin que la province, qui a procure k la Prance cette belle race 
chevaline et qui a donnS son nom, ne soit pas deshSritee de la glorie 
de I'avoir rendue k sa purete primitive." 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 49 

letter has been made the basis of so much that has 
been handed down to our day and generation, it will 
now be of interest to set forth the discussion which 
it provoked among those who were present. Par- 
ticular attention should be given to the remarks of 
M. Gautier, whose standing at the time may be fairly 
gauged from the fact that he not only opened but 
closed the discussion. We again quote verbatim: 

"M. Gautier said he had no knowledge of any 
documents which would cause one to think, like the 
Abbe Fret, that the Percheron was descended from 
the Arab ; or from the Brittany horse, as some others 
thought. As for himself, he had the conviction that 
this breed (the Percheron) was a primitive type, 
and that the introduction of the English half-blood, 
as a sire, had brought in modifications rendering it 
suitable for an army horse. 

"M. Blanpre thought that the crossing of Per- 
cheron mares with half-blood horses had caused bad 
results. The half-blood is a mixed breed, and it 
would be contrary to all principles to admit a horse 
incapable of impressing character on its products. 
He thought that the conservation in the region of 
fine Percheron stallions, carefully selected, suitable, 
if one wished, of rendering the breed lighter and 
liberally encouraged by government prizes would be 
the best means of maintaining the horse of this breed 
as a commercial proposition. The crossing with 
stallions that did not show any primitive type had 
nearly destroyed all the French breeds. 

' ' M. Le Eoy thought that there was too much dis- 
similarity between the Thoroughbred stallion and 
the Percheron mare to give any hope of success in 
such a combination. He feared, also, that the tenant 
farmers would be afraid of the lightness of the Thor- 



50 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

oiiglibred, and that the half-blood was preferable, 
for if they gave their mares to a Thoroughbred 
stallion certain qualities would be inherited from the 
sire and others from the dam, which would result in 
'misfits.' 

"M. de Clinchemps spoke warmly against any 
crossing with the demi-sang. . . . He thought 
that it was necessary, just as had been done by the 
English, to go back to the source and buy Arabian 
horses as stallions, an opinion in harmony with all 
principles, confirmed by experience and crowned by 
success in the case of our neighbours (the English). 

"M. Gautier speaking about the origin of the Per- 
cheron horse said: 'The origin is still within the 
domain of probabilities. Every man, who has up to 
this time written on French and foreign breeds, says 
that the Percheron is of Brittany origin. As proof, 
nothing. Each writer, in consulting his predecessor, 
has reproduced the same opinion. One writer has 
said that the Percheron was of English origin. 
Others say that the Percheron is descended from the 
Arab. For me, if I may give my opinion: I believe 
that the Percheron is a primitive breed, singularly 
altered, improved by crossings at different periods 
with Arabian and English horses." 

"The Legendary Kadischi." — It will be observed 
that the writer of this letter is careful to set forth 
that what he tells of the introduction of the Arabian 
blood rests, not upon any existing records, but on 
' ' tradition ' ' handed down among ' ' the manor houses 
of the lower Perche." This then is the foundation 
upon which the Arabian story rests. It has been 
generally accepted; and yet not all the intelligent 
men of The Perche have given it credence, as is evi- 
denced by the following from the "Annuaires Nor- 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 51 

mandes" of 1909, in the report of an agricultural 
show held at Mortagne where one of the local nota- 
bles, M. de Longuemar, who made the principal 
discourse, said in speaking of the origin of the Per- 
cheron : 

''The very nature of the soil itself, the environ- 
ment — that is the primordial reason; much more cer- 
tain than the hypothetical crossings of the native 
mares with Arabian stallions, the legendary ' ka- 
dischi.' " 

Modem Arab Crossing Not Mentioned. — It will 
also be observed that while there were various views 
expressed relating to the origin and crossing of the 
breed, there was no disposition to attach special im- 
portance to the Arabian phase of the proposition. 
It will also be noted that while this took place in 
1843, no reference whatever was made to modifica- 
tions of the breed by the use about 1820 of the alleged 
Arabian stallions Godolphin and Grallipoly, to be re- 
ferred to further on. On the other hand, the prob- 
ability of remote Oriental crossings was apparently 
conceded, a fact which confoiTus to what we have 
already intimated in preceding pages touching the 
part possibly played by the Oriental blood in the 
production of the gray chargers used by the old 
French nobility. 

Before dismissing this reference to the congress of 
Mortagne it should further be pointed out that at 
the time when it was held the army was a large 
buyer of horses in this district. This explains the 
talk about crossing with stallions of lighter types, 



52 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

with a view towards furnishing horses suitable for 
military purposes. In strong opposition to this, how- 
ever, we find the farmers themselves, the mare men 
of The Perche, who were best able to judge for them- 
selves what kind of a horse was best adapted for 
their own service. They preferred a heavier type, 
and, as we shall show in another chapter, the founda- 
tions of the modern heavy-draft Percheron had been 
firmly laid by the use of government-approved stal- 
lions, mostly of gray color and in many cases stand- 
ing 16 hands and over in height, upwards of 25 years 
prior to the holding of this congress. 

Is the Percheron a Primitive Type? — We draw 
special attention to M. Gautier's expression of his 
belief that the Percheron was in reality a primitive 
breed, from time to time crossed with other types. 
We do this for the purpose of introducing at this 
point the testimony of M. Andre Sanson, late Pro- 
fessor of Zoologie at the National School of Agri- 
culture, Grignon, France, and at the National Insti- 
tute of Agronomy, Paris. In his book, "L'Origine 
des races Francaises de chevaux," page 95, Vol. 3, 
he says : 

' ' The Percheron breed, like all the others, is con- 
temporaneous with the mammoth of the alluvial. It 
goes back to the Deluge, and, in the presence of such 
antiquity, the epoch of the Crusades, by comparison, 
only dates from yesterday. 

''The Percheron . . . had its origin in the 
basin of the Seine, and that is the reason why we 
give to this type the scientific name of Sequanien, 



PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 53 

derived from the name which the Seine had during 
the Gallo-Romano epoch." 

He then goes on to say: 

*'In the sandy alluvial deposits of the Seine Basin 
at Grenelle, so rich in fossils, several skeletons of 
horses were discovered in 1868. Among these was a 
skull almost complete. 

"This skull (now conserved at the Museum of 
Natural History at Paris), although broken at the 
time by the pick-axes of the excavators, has been 
reconstituted perfectly, and is the only perfect skull 
of its epoch that science possesses, and as such is 
extremely precious. Having been enabled to exam- 
ine this skull before it was restored, we were struck 
by the resemblance that each bone had to the 
cranial bones of the Percheron of the present day. 
Since then a methodical comparison of the two skulls 
has permitted us to establish their complete iden- 
tity." 

If a typical Ethiopian and a Chinaman were to be 
buried side by side, skilled anatomists could a 
thousand years hence establish their complete iden- 
tity by an examination of their skulls alone, if con- 
served intact. It is said that the race of any given 
species demonstrates in the head, more than in any 
other part of its anatomy, the specific characters in- 
herent in the race. Whenever a breed has been ex- 
tensively crossed with another, such crossing is sup- 
posed to divulge itself unmistakably, to the trained 
eye, in a modification of the cranial bones. 

The Percheron is said to possess a dolichocephalic 
cranium. The Arabian horse is decidedly brachy- 
cephalic. Among other dolichocephalic equine races 



54 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

may be mentioned the old Flemish breed, but the 
median depression which distinguished the Flemish 
horse is reported to be absent in the skull of the 
Percheron. Further, it is said that there is a pecul- 
iarity about the head of the Percheron distinct from 
all other breeds, in that near the half-length of the 
frontal bone of a typ|ical Percheron there is a small 
re-entering curve, imparting to the physiognomy a. 
specific aspect. 

From a brochure entitled, ' ' Les Habitants Primi- 
tifs de la Basse Ome," being a copy of a lecture 
delivered by Dr. E. T. Hamy before the Association 
Frangaise pour 1 'Advancement des Science at the 
Congress of Eouen in 1883, we learn that among the 
human and animal fossils discovered in an excava- 
tion made at the bridge of Vaucelles in 1787 was a 
skull of a horse of remote prehistoric antiquity. This 
skull was pronounced to be dolichocephalic, and 
from the indications of the surrounding strata it was 
established that the fossil dated from the Neolithic 
or Polished Stone Age. 

Whatever bearing all this may have on the theory 
of Arab crossing upon the mares of The Perche it 
gives color to G-autier's contention at Mortagne as 
to the Percheron 's being a primitive type. 




KOAI>WAT LEADING INTO MOBTAGNE. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE 
REVOLUTION. 

In a rare old book published at Mortagne in 1801, 
the ninth year of the French Republic, we find these 
paragraphs : 

"The breed of horses known as the Percheron is 
destroyed; it is absolutely annihilated; the suppres- 
sion of the haras has contributed to its dying out. 
This breed was precious for its courage, its vigor, 
and its longevity. It was more valuable for its wear- 
ing qualities than even for its splendid conforma- 
tion. It had excellent hips, fine hocks, round in rib, 
free-moving shoulders — though a trifle heavy — a 
neck too heavily muscled, a head a little coarse, 
perfect legs and everlasting feet. 

"Perhaps the Percheron breed, whose qualities 
are, without doubt, due to the climate and character 
of the pastures, can be reestablished by distributing 
the best stallions all over the district, and confiding 
them to the care of rich landowners and respectable 
farmers. ' ' 

The first paragraph is indeed valuable and inter- 
esting for its description of the Percheron as he 
existed prior to the great Revolution. ' ' Everlasting 
feet" surely constituted the best of all foundations 
upon which to reconstruct a breed of horses that 
had suffered grievously from the effects of inter- 
necine strife. The second paragraph of course con- 

(55) 



56 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

flicts with the first in that it shows that the breed 
was not literally "destroyed" nor "absolutely anni- 
hilated, ' ' because the author points the way whereby 
it is to be rehabilitated. Evidently Citizen Fon- 
tenay, who used this strong language, merely in- 
tended to express, with Gallic exuberance of lan- 
guage, a feeling of overwhelming regret that the 
native race had been so grievously injured. The refer- 
ence is of sufficient importance, as leading up to the 
modern history of the Percheron, to warrant our 
making it the starting-point of our story of how the 
old breed rose Phoenix-like from the fiery ashes of 
the Revolution, and was transformed from a race of 
saddlers, hunters and diligence stock into the mod- 
ern horse "de trait," or heavy draft. The increase 
in weight began to be clearly manifested, as we shall 
soon relate, around 1820. 

Delestang and His History. — So far as we are 
aware, no writer on the Percheron horse has quoted, 
or even mentioned, the author of the first really im- 
portant publication or document in which the word 
"Percheron" is used, as applied to the native breed 
of horses in The Perche. We refer to the work 
entitled, "Essai de Chorographic du IV Arrondisse- 
ment du Department de I'Orne. Chef lieu; Mor- 
tagne. Thermidor, an IX," printed in July, 1801, 
and written by M. Delestang, the first Under-Pref ect 
of the Arrondissement of Mortagne, a division cor- 
responding practically to a county in the United 
States. True, Gallier, in his work on the French 
breeds, has some idea that such a volume exists be- 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 57 

cause he reproduces a paragraph from the Abbe 
Fret relating to the Percherons and adds, "This is 
equally the opinion of Odolant-Desnos, first Under- 
Prefect of Mortagne." Now Odolant-Desnos is one 
of the great historians of The Perche, but he was 
not "first Under-Prefect of Mortagne," nor indeed 
of anywhere else, but lived at Alengon and was by 
profession a doctor of medicine. And in passing it 
may be remarked that nearly all French writers have 
reproduced the paragraph on the Percheron horse in 
the Abbe Fret's history, but none seems to have 
been cognizant of the fact that the priest had copied 
it, almost word for word, from Delestang's book 
which had been published about 30 years previously. 

Delestang had procured his information from the 
best local sources available, inviting the coopera- 
tion and collaboration of the citizens of Mortagne 
and the farmers of the surrounding country, and 
the quoted paragraphs with which this chapter 
opens, he obtained from a "Memoire sur 1 'agricul- 
ture par le citoyen Fontenay." Delestang was the 
author of several books, largely compilations of 
statistics relating to his district, all of which was in 
The Perche. These are full of interest, and yet they 
seem to have escaped modern writers on the Per- 
cheron horse. On page 17 of his ' ' Notice Statistique 
de la sous prefecture de Mortagne," published in 
1801 under the head of "Animal Production," he 
says: 

"This consists principally of horses, cattle and 
sheep. The horses, known under the name of Per- 



58 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

cherons, were celebrated as saddlers and hunters, 
but they were employed chiefly as diligence and 
express horses. There are about 13,520 horses, 
mares and colts [in his district, of course]. Included 
in this number 5,200 horses and 5,280 mares are 
employed in agricultural work; 1,380 horses and 
mares are employed in other work than agriculture; 
and 1,560 are colts and fillies." 

Lamagdelaine's Prizes. — In his " Chorographie, " 
published in 1803, Delestang speaks again of the 
Percheron horse, using in part expressions similar 
to those he had previously employed. But from 
this it appears that it was afterwards discovered 
that conditions were not nearly so bad as Citizen 
Fontenay had originally stated, for under a caption, 
''Additional Information," Delestang says: 

"The breed of horses called Percherons owes its 
restoration to the solicitude of the Prefect of the 
Department, J. V. A. Lamagdelaine, who, desirous 
of regenerating this breed, has begun to oifer prizes 
to the land owners and farmers who present, at the 
fair of Dec. 11, 1803, the finest brood mares and male 
colts of the Percheron breed. These prizes will be 
publicly distributed, on the fair ground, by the Pre- 
fect. This fair, called St. Andrew's, is renowned for 
the quantity of colts sold. The fair of St. Martin, 
held at Laigle, is also famous as a great colt fair. 
The commerce in horses at all the fairs of the 
Arrondissement of Mortagne is valued at about 
550,000 pounds sterling, and that of the markets at 
about £70,000 weekly." 

In view of the fact that the purchasing power of 
money at that epoch was considerably greater than 
at present, it will be seen that the restoration had 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 59 

not only progressed rapidly, but that the type was 
in great demand from other districts, as the major 
part of the product was sold to buyers hailing from 
outside points. 

In 1813, the "Conseil General du Department 
d 'Eure-et-Loir " began to offer 1,000 francs a year 
divided between the Nogent and Courtalain fairs. 
At each two prizes, one of 300 francs and another 
of 200 francs, were offered for the finest brood mare 
and filly respectively. About the same epoch Orne 
began to offer 1,600 francs at the fairs of Alencon 
and Le Pin, but only Normandy horses are spoken 
of at these fairs. As a matter of fact it was the 
Normandy mares that were kept almost exclusively 
near these latter places at this period, and these 
were bred to the demi-sang, English and other 
blooded saddle stallions kept for that purpose. La 
Sarthe also began about this time by giving 1,200 
francs in bonuses. 

A Draft Type at Montdoubleau. — ^A complaint was 
voiced from the vicinity of Montdoubleau in 1818 
that there were not enough stallions of the heavier 
sort available, showing that the objection of the 
farmers to the government's policy of favoring the 
lighter types was even then officially noticed. We 
quote from the "Deliberations du Conseil General 
de Loir-et-Cher" for 1818, under the head, "Elevage 
des Chevaux": 

"The encouragement given to this class of im- 
provement (the question of horses) offers in general 
satisfactory results. The canton of Montdoubleau, 



60 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

however, whose mares are only suitable for either 
heavy cavalry or draft purposes, would like to find 
at the depot of Blois, enough stallions analogous to 
the heavy type of mares found in the said region; 
in default of which the farmers will procure stallions 
to serve their mares wherever they can, in many 
cases sires which serve a great number of mares, 
because the service fees of these stallions are inferior 
to those charged by the government. 

"The liberty of owning a stallion or recurring to 
that of one's neighbour cannot textually be de- 
stroyed ; therefore it is necessary to combat this state 
of things by competition, and it is only by offering 
to the said canton, eminently suitable for horse 
breeding, sufficient stallions appropriate for its par- 
ticular class of mares and at the regular service fee 
obtaining in the region, that one can succeed in de- 
stroying the custom which has given rise to the 
necessity . . . etc." 

Unverified Tradition Exploded. — Whether the 
horses captured at the battle of Tours from the 
Saracens furnished the basis of horse-breeding in 
The Perche or not none can say. That the Crusaders 
brought back Arabian stallions from Palestine to 
The Perche is a fairly reasonable assumption, al- 
though there seem to be no authentic records to that 
effect. That the gray and white chargers popular 
in France during the Middle Ages probably carried 
Oriental blood is of course possible. We now come, 
however, to a comparatively recent phase of the 
Arabian proposition which seems to demand special 
attention. We refer to the commonly-accepted state- 
ment that the modem Percheron owes not only a 
great part of his excellence, but the gray color as 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 61 

well, to the extensive use of "two Arab horses from 
the stud stables of Pin — Godolphin and Gallipoly." 
The expression quoted is from "Le Cheval Per- 
cheron" by M. Chas. du Hays, the generally accred- 
ited modern historian of the Percheron in France. 
He says: 

"These two valuable stock-getters, both gray, 
again gave tone and ardor to the Percheron race, and 
transformed definitely into gray horses the stock 
of the entire country, which had, it is said, become 
less uniform, and of all colors. ' ' 

It seems incredible that a writer so generally well- 
informed could have been in error in a matter of 
such historical importance. The story of Godolphin 
and Gallipoly has been adopted and incorporated 
into practically every work dealing with the Per- 
cheron that has appeared during the past fifty years. 
None has doubted, none disputed, probably because 
of the rank and standing of the author. And yet his 
positive statements in other essential points have 
already been denied point blank by the Percheron 
Society of France. 

It will be observed that Du Hays states that both 
of these horses were Arabs, and that both were gray. 
He also locates them definitely as coming from the 
government stud at Le Pin. He also says that they 
stood at the chateau of Count de Mallart near 
Belleme, and places the date at "towards" or 
"about" 1820. This latter statement seemed to us 
to indicate a little uncertainty in regard to the date, 
at least. "With no other idea, therefore, than merely 



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62 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

undertaking to reduce to specific terms a. proposition 
of such interest to students of Percheron history, we 
have had the government archives at Paris searched 
in quest of details as to this supposedly epoch- 
making event. The results of this research are 
amazingly at variance with the above statements. 

Permission was kindly given by the authorities 
not only to examine all the records, but to make 
photographs of the original entries in substantiation 
of the facts now to be set forth. And lest any ques- 
tion of mistaken identity be raised, let us say at the 
outset that the two stallions bearing these names, 
concerning which we shall noAv give full particulars, 
are the only horses possessing those names men- 
tioned in the list of stallions at Le Pin in all its his- 
tory. 

Godolphin an English Saddler. — We first meet 
Godolphin at the stallion inspection of 1810. The 
record may be thus translated: 

''No. 20, Godolphin; born 1802; height 1 meter, 54 
cm. (about 15.1 hands) ; from the stable of Count de 
Maulke, Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Observations: good 
horse, but marked at the croup M.; inferior to the 
preceding horse in the list (also a Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz horse). Sire: Mock Doctor, English blood 
horse ; Dam : Unknown English mare. When entered : 
12 July, 1807. Description: Saddle horse." 

It appears that he was secured for the stud by M. 
D'Avangour, who also brought in several other 
Mecklenburg horses in the same year, 1807. All these 
were classed as "saddle horses." At the inspection 
of 1812 we find the following observations relating 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 63 

to Godolphin: "Figure commune; jarrets droits et 
mauvais ; vaillaine croup ; il trot mal. ( Conformation 
ordinary; hocks bad and straight; ugly croup; 
he trots badly.) The inspection of 1813 revealed 
that he was "common horse and without quality." 
Inspection of 1815 was followed by this report: 
' ' Grodolphin, Mecklenburg saddle horse ; nothing dis- 
tinguished about him; low croup; strong limbs; 
action passable." 

At the inspection of 1819 we find this of Godol- 
phin : ' ' This horse has ceased to serve at the Haras 
du Pin; his croup is common; middlepiece well-made; 
head good; action altogether bad. To be deplaced. 
I propose to send him to Abbeville." This horse 
does not appear again in the inspections of succeed- 
ing years. His color is given as "alezan dore" 
(golden chestnut) ! It appears, therefore, that it was 
not until after 1818 that Grodolphin ceased to serve 
at Le Pin. He was then sixteen years old, and was 
about to be "deplaced" as no longer suitable, and 
it was proposed that he be sent to Abbeville in the 
department of La Somme.* 



*Lest a query be raised in this connection as to possible con- 
fusion with the celebrated stallion Godolphin Arabian, of English 
fame, the following- particulars are submitted. Attention is called 
to the dates. These, of course, show that the Godolphin Arabian 
died long years before the Godolphin of our story came upon the 
scene. 

Godolphin Arabian, like the Byerly Turk and the Darley 
Arabian, was one of the main sources of improvement which led 
to the establishment of the Thoroughbred as a breed. His earlier 
career is shrouded in more or less mystery, but it is fairly well 
established that he was a Barb of rather common origin and 
appearance, and not a true Arabian. Though there is no authentic 
account of his foaling, he is supposed to have seen the light in 
Barbary in 1724, his age having been clearly stated as seven in 
1731. It is not known who originally took him from his native 



64 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

Gallipoly a Small Turkish Saddle Horse. — This 
stallion first comes to light in government records 
at the inspection of 1813. We quote, and again give 
a photographic reproduction, from the original docu- 
ments : 

"Gallipoly, Turk; light speckled gray; height, 1 
meter, 50 cm: classification, saddle horse: sire, a 
Turk; dam, a Turk; born 1803; entered haras Nov. 
23, 1812. By whom bought: sent by the Minister. 
Observations: good blood horse." 

Here we have a speckled-gray saddle stallion bare- 
ly 15 hands high, and ten years old at date of entry! 
He was not an Arab and scarcely a type, one would 
say, to build up the Percherons "around 1820," 
among which, as we shall shortly show from these 
same authenticated records, there were many big 
approved gray stallions in actual service and found- 
ing the modern draft type from within the limits of 
the native breed itself. 

To resume Gallipoly 's record: At the inspection 
of 1815 he is referred to in complimentary terms as 
an "excellent stallion, well conserved; produces well, 
good action." It must be remembered that these 
inspectors had ever in mind the requirements of the 

country, but it is said that a Mr. Coke, an Eng-lishman, being in 
Paris, was attracted by the appearance of the stallion in the 
street and bought him despite the fact that the menial labor of 
hauling a cart was then being exacted of him. At first he was 
not much thought of in England, where Mr. Coke gave him to a 
Mr. "^^illiams, who in turn presented him to the Earl of Godolphin. 
Godolphin Arabian was a brown-bay in color, of about 15 hands, 
with an unusual development of crest and some white on his off 
hind heel. He seems to have had but the three owners in Eng- 
land, passing each time as a gift. From the Earl Godolphin he 
took his erroneous title, and in his possession he died at Gog- 
magog in Cambridsreshire in 1753, being then, as gauged by his 
seven-year-old mouth in 1731, in his 29th year. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 65 

army and not of the farm. After four years more 
of service we find him still at Le Pin under the in- 
spection in 1819. Of the little old horse it was then 
said: "Well bred and plenty of blood, very pretty 
head, short coupling; the buttocks are short, and the 
tail not well attached; he trots lightly and with 
vigor; he is too small and unsuitable for le Pin. To 
be deplaced. I propose to send him to Brittany." 
The game old saddler is still there, however, the 
following year, but is going to be sent away, and 
that is the last we hear of him. Too small to get 
cavalry remounts, and yet regenerator and proto- 
type of the modern Percheron! Is it possible? Is 
it probable? And yet how could Du Hays make a 
mistake in a matter to which he attaches so much 
importance? Did he or any of his successors take 
the trouble, as we have, to delve among those old 
dusty documents? Perhaps not. 

There were many other Mecklenburg-Strelitz sad- 
dle horses and horses of English breeding, as well 
as Normandy saddle horses, at Le Pin at this time. 
What was their mission ? Undoubtedly to serve the 
Normandy and demi-sang mares in the Merierault 
country, which was full of light mares at that time 
producing cavalry colts. 

Error Easily Perpetuated. — It is not so remarkable 
that we find so many articles and treatises on the 
Percheron breed wherein the Arabian blood is cred- 
ited with having wrought important changes as late 
as 1820, by writers who apparently either from lack 
of time or means or other reasons have not under- 



66 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

taken to verify the statement, since we find in the 
preface of the first volume of the Percheron Stud 
Book of France the following reference. It will be 
observed, however, that the Percheron society was 
by no means in accord with Charles Du Hays on 
other vital particulars. We quote from the stud 
book: 

"It is known that the finest specimens of the Per- 
cheron breed existing today can be directly attrib- 
uted to the regenerating influences of the Arab, the 
primitive horse, the first origin of the Percheron 
breed. The authorized historian and the faithful 
friend of the Percheron breed, Charles Du Hays, 
supported, many years ago, this doctrine. This 
author has shown his great knowledge of horse- 
breeding in establishing that Jean-le-Blanc, the 
horse which excited so much his admiration, was a 
direct descendant of the Arabian stallion Gallipoly, 
which was owned by the Haras du Pin. This horse 
has been the most powerful element in perfecting the 
Percheron breed since this epoch. Nearly all the 
most highly estimated stallions may be considered as 
the direct descendants of this horse. 

''The Perche owes much to M. Du Hays for his 
precious teachings, and we feel that we cannot do 
better for our own cause and at the same time render 
the latter merited homage than to cite, in this first 
volume of the stud book, his ideas on the Percheron 
breed and its development. 

''However, we would like to state that Charles Du 
Hays has committed a grave error in one of the 
passages of his book, page 45, in saying that the 
Perche threw its barriers wide open to all the big 
mares that came along in order to make the breed 
more weighty. On page 47, he also states that Brit- 




NOGENT-LE-KOTKOU— RUE DE LA CHARRONNERtE. 




NOGENT-LE-ROTROU— ETJE SAINT TTTT.ATRE. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 67 

tany draft, Picardy, Caucliois and Boulonnais stocks 
have been employed. We regret that we are obliged 
to refute these involuntary errors on the part of the 
honorable writer, who has been deceived by false in- 
dications. The Percheron breed has not been en- 
larged in size except by its own blood, just as we 
shall be able to prove by a notice on the Percheron 
breed which we shall publish later. ' ' 

We shall shortly provide the proof that it is not 
necessary to look to either Godolphin or Gallipoly, 
nor indeed to any other out-crossing, to account for 
the pre-stud-book Percheron and his color. He was 
big and he was gray at the very time these saddle 
horses were in service. In the meantime it need 
only be said that those who incorporated this ' ' tra- 
dition" into the initial volume of the stud book are 
not to be faulted for so doing. The story was given 
currency by a writer who knew and loved the Per- 
cheron, and who would not knowingly mislead any- 
body in respect to their derivation. There was none 
to deny or disprove it. Du Hays was unquestionably 
sincere in his belief in the tales someone had told 
him as to these horses. The Societe Hippique Per- 
cheronne had no special reason for doubting the 
truth of the statements made. At the time of the 
publication of the first stud book, its sponsors were 
simply seeking to place on record the names of latter- 
day breeding horses. They very naturally did not 
undertake any detailed investigations touching a 
matter so remote and of purely academic interest. 
In other words, they were not writing history; they 
were making it. 



68 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Jean-le-Blanc. — In the first volume of the French 
Stud Book is the following entry: 

"Jean-le-Blanc, white, No. 739; born in Orne about 
1823 or 1824; owned by M. Miard, Sr., Villiers-en 
Ouche (Orne). It is to this remarkable stallion, 
more than any other, that we owe a great improve- 
ment of the breed. He was recognized as a true 
Percheron, and, nevertheless, was a descendant of 
the famous Arab stallion Gallipoly, of the Haras du 
Pin, that stood at the chateau of Coesme, near 
Belleme. (For further information on this remark- 
able horse see the book, ' Cheval Percheron, ' Charles 
Du Hays.) 

"Jean-le-Blanc died at the advanced age of 32 
years, exempt from all blemish. In going through 
this book one will find a great number of horses 
raised in The Perche during the last 50 years that 
had Jean-le-Blanc as ancestor. This fact demon- 
strates that the superiority to which the Percheron 
breed has attained, surpassing all other draft breeds 
in excellence, is due in a great part to the regenerat- 
ing influence of the Arab, fortified by consanguineous 
and judicious mating." 

At the very time this entry was being made there 
were data lying buried under piles of other matter 
at the Ministry of Commerce — the central Bureau 
of the Haras was formerly under the administration 
of that ministry previous to admitting the Minister 
of Agriculture to cabinet rank — that would have 
overturned these unsubstantiated but accepted pre- 
sumptions. At least, there seems no other construc- 
tion to be placed upon the facts we have adduced. 
Let us recapitulate: 

The Evidence Summarized. — We have shown by 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION C9 

an examination of the original documents of the in- 
spections of the Haras du Pin, and by photographing 
them, that neither Gallipoly nor Godolphin was an 
Arab, Gallipoly being a small Turkish saddle horse, 
and Godolphin a Mecklenburg-Strelitz saddle horse 
of English breeding. Further, that far from Godol- 
phin being a "gray," he was a "golden chestnut." 
We are told that these two horses went to Coesme, 
near Belleme, in 1818 and following years. Neither 
documents nor deductions are attested in proof. The 
facts are, that in 1818 both of these stallions were 
still in service at the haras. Godolphin was then 
16 years old and Gallipoly was 15 years old. In 1819 
at the annual inspection we read that Godolphin 
"has ceased to serve at Le Pin," and that he is 
going to be "deplaced" as no longer suitable, it 
being proposed to send him to Abbeville (Depart- 
ment of La Somme). In the same year, 1819, 
Gallipoly is going to be "deplaced" as no longer 
suitable. It is proposed to send him to Brittany. 
But in the following year we find the name of 
Gallipoly still on the list of stallions doing service 
at Le Pin, although the name of Godolphin is absent. 
After 1820 we never hear of Gallipoly again; he is 
then 17 years old, and has probably been sent to 
Brittany. 

So far as the statement that these two stallions 
were the means of giving the gray color to the Per- 
cheron breed is concerned, all one has to do to demon- 
strate such a fallacy is to read the accounts of the 
approved heavy draft stallions serving simultan- 



VO A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

eously all over The Perche, beginning about the year 
1820, full particulars as to which will presently be 
given. Practically all these stallions were dapple- 
gray in color, and they are all classed as "Perche- 
ron." If either of the two stallions mentioned had 
been used on Percheix)n mares the colts would cer- 
tainly have been smaller in size than their dams, 
whereas the general tendency at this epoch all over 
The Perche, following the general prosperity and 
busy times after the Revolution, was to improve the 
weight and stature of draft horses to meet the great 
demand for heavy horses for agricultural and indus- 
trial and commercial purposes. Then, again, if 
Gallipol}^ was sent away as being "too small" as a 
saddle stallion, is it possible that such a horse would 
be found large enough and strong enough at 17 years 
old to sire heavy draft colts? 

If we could find any evidence that would assist us 
in deducing that either of these two stallions was 
used to ameliorate the Percheron breed, or even used 
on real Percheron mares at all, we should be glad 
to support such a hypothesis, especially when we 
consider the fact that such statements have been 
accepted and given official countenance for so long 
a period. As it is, we can only say that if these 
two horses had not been given prominence by Du 
Hays as "Arabs" — to follow up the latter 's accept- 
ance of the Abbe Fret's traditions respecting the 
Arabian stallions of the Crusades — they would prob- 
ably never have been mentioned in connection with 
the Percheron breed. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 71 

The Breed "Modifies Itself." — In a memoir writ- 
ten in 1883, M. Michel Fardouet, one of the dis- 
tinguished breeders of his time, and the first 
President of the Percheron Society of France, pre- 
sented an absolutely correct statement concerning 
the development of the heavy-weight Percheron of 
modern days. Although without facts, names and 
particulars to sustain his assertions, and admittedly 
resting some of them upon remarks he had heard his 
father make many years previously, M. Fardouet 
could not have done better had he possessed — 
though apparently he did not — a copy of the old 
government records which we are now to reproduce. 
This is what he said: 

' ' I have heard my father, who was a breeder, say 
that the haras deteriorated the Percheron breed with 
its demi-sang stallions, instead of improving as it 
pretended to do. The breeders have renounced the 
colts said to be improved, to raise only colts the 
product of big horses, well proportioned and of pure 
origin. 

"It may be boldly said that if the heart of The 
Perche — that is to say the environs of Nogent-le- 
Rotrou within a radius of 18 to 20 miles — has con- 
served the purest type of its race of heavy Percheron, 
it is thanks to the breeders and stallioners of the 
region, such as Messrs. Perriot, father and grand- 
father, Ducoeurjoly, Sr., the Vineaults, etc., etc. [Of 
course M. Fardouet was too modest to mention his 
own name, but really he would come very near the 
head of the list.— Ed.] 

"It was about 1820 to 1840 that the Percheron 
breed, the breed of horses that trotted quickly, com- 
menced to modify itself. It has definitely refused to 



72 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

cross with the demi-sang, believing it to be harmful; 
it has also, despite the assertions of Charles Du 
Hays, equally rejected the Brittany draft, Picardy, 
Cauchois and Boulonnais horses which have too often 
and fraudulently been introduced into The Perclie, 
but which have never been invited to enter." 

M. Fardouet Was Right. — The reference to the at- 
titude of the government in connection with the 
conduct of the Haras du Pin is easily interpreted; 
That establishment was being maintained mainly 
with a view towards encouraging the production of 
horses suited to the requirements of the military 
service. The stud is situated near the boundary line 
between the old provinces of Normandy and The 
Perche. As will be shown further on, the stallions 
first bought by the government for this purpose were 
mainly of various demi-sang (half-blood) English 
types usually carrying infusions of the Thorough- 
bred blood, and classified as saddle or coach stal- 
lions. These were liberally patronized by the Nor- 
mandy farmers and by some of the mare owners of 
The Perche, with the effect stated by M. Fardouet. 

Later on, as w^e shall show, the government, 
apparently yielding to pressure from The Perche for 
weightier horses for agricultural purposes, added a 
few draft stallions; but had the farmers of that dis- 
trict been dependent entirely upon the Haras du Pin 
for sires of horses big enough to meet their needs, 
this story probably would never have been written. 
However, while this statement holds good as to the 
types of stallions bought and kept in service by the 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 73 

government, it must be said to the everlasting credit 
of the authorities at Paris, that while they were pri- 
marily and properly looking first after the interests 
of the army at Le Pin, they at the same time actively 
and efficiently promoted in a practical way, as we 
shall presently prove, the aspirations of the people 
of The Perche in their ambitions to increase the size 
of the Percheron horse. 

The credit for this work of converting the old-time 
trotting Percheron into a heavy horse is due, as M. 
Fardouet truly says, to the breeders of the district 
themselves. Not only is that statement correct, but 
the date at which this important work was inaug- 
urated is also given in accordance with the actual 
fact. And most important of all, M. Fardouet sound- 
ed the entire depth and breadth of the whole propo- 
sition touching the composition of the modem Per- 
cheron when he said that ' ' about 1820 to 1840 ' ' the 
breed '^ commenced to modify itself." These asser- 
tions, unsupported as they were at the time by the 
presentation of facts and figures, and unverified even 
in the initial volume of the Percheron Stud Book of 
France, are now to be rested upon the rock of the 
archives of the French government. 

We shall first take up the record at the Haras du 
Pin, and then present the long roll of honor of gov- 
ernment-approved and subsidized Percheron stal- 
lions, through the services of which the breed so 
effectually modified itself during the eventful years 
referred to in M. Fardouet 's singularly accurate 
narration. 



74 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The Government Stud. — It was not until the nine- 
teenth century was well on its course that the French 
government stud known as the Haras du Pin began 
to interest itself in draft stallions. An examination 
of the documents shows that in the purchases made 
for the national haras from 1765 to 1789 Norman and 
English blood greatly predominated. There were 
many Poitevins, a few Vimeux and Limousins, some 
Spanish, and but one or two Arabian stallions bought 
during this period. In fact, the documents of the 
Haras du Pin show that very few stallions of the 
Arabian breed have ever been kept there. At one 
time there was a fair number of Barbs,* but one 
rarely finds the word ''Arab." The breed of every 
stallion used is given, almost without exception. Be- 
fore the dates mentioned, Danish, Cotentin and 
Italian stallions had been greatly in vogue. All 
these were used almost exclusively on the mares in 
the Merlerault district adjacent to Normandy. The 
government was chiefly concerned in encouraging the 
production of cavalry horses. 

First Draft Stallions at the Haras du Pin. — "We 

shall now give the record of the breed at the Haras 
du Pin from the time the first draft stallions were 
introduced. 



*The type of horse known as the Barb derives its name from the 
ancient Barbary states of North Africa adjacent to tlie Mediterranean 
coast, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, etc. While the type has 
undergone more or less change, quite a number of the French colonial 
cavalry troops engaged in the great European war are mounted on 
horses of Barb type. As breeding horses the stallions are reputed to 
sire larger colts when crossed with other breeds than when mated with 
mares of their own blood. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 75 

In the list of stallions kept by the French govern- 
ment at this establishment one may search in vain 
for draft stallions during the eighteenth century. It 
was not until about 1808, according to the haras 
documents, that the authorities commenced to pur- 
chase heavy draft stallions, and then only on a very 
restricted scale. For instance, we find in the list for 
1809 mention made of Le Pierrot, standing about 15.3 
hands, ''dapple-gray" (gris pommele), and classed 
simply as a " draft stallion. ' ' It seems to have been 
general during the initial years of the introduction 
of draft stallions at this stud to class these horses 
merely as ''draft" (de trait), without mentioning 
the breed. There can be little doubt, however, that 
these early dapple-gray horses were Percherons. Sit- 
uated in the borders of the Percheron country, it is 
but reasonable to take this view, and this deduction 
is corroborated by the fact that on the rare occasions 
on which a Cauchois or Boulonnais stallion was em- 
ployed he was invariably designated as such in the 
records. From 1809 up to the year in which we find 
the word "Percheron" mentioned for the first time 
in the list, those designated simply as "draft stal- 
lions" appear with increasing frequency, and nearly 
all of them are described as ' ' grays. ' ' 

Curiously enough, the first instance found where 
a Percheron stallion is specifically classed as such 
is in the "Controle des etalons du Pin," sent by the 
director, the Count de Maille, to the director-general 
of the haras at Paris, under date of Aug. 17, 1822. 
The entry is that of Desarme 538: "Percheron draft. 



76 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

bom in 1815; color: bay with long tail; sire and dam: 
unknown Percherons; height: 15.2 hands." He 
entered April 5, 1821. The director's observation 
referring to this horse is ' ' bon cheval de trait. ' ' In 
the report from which the preceding detail is extract- 
ed practically all the stallions are described as saddle 
and coach horses — of Anglais and Normandy breed- 
ing. 

As a matter of fact, the haras management had 
very little use for a draft stallion at that time. In 
1823 there were several in the list, however, as well 
as mares and fillies of the draft type, but the word 
"Percheron" is not used — merely "de trait." How- 
ever, in the following year, 1824, w^e find a second 
mention as follows: "Timbalier, Percheron draft; 
dapple-gray; short tail; 16 hands; sire and dam un- 
known; born 1818." Also: "Polisson, Percheron 
draft; dark dapple-gray; slightly over 15 hands; sire 
and dam unknown; born 1818." There is a note 
opposite this horse's name: '*To be sent to Auxerre." 
He was perhaps too small. There is also reference 
in that year to Geant, an ''enormous Boulonnais," 
and some Cauchois draft stallions are mentioned. 

At the 1826 inspection we hear of Desarme again, 
as follows: 

"Desarme covered 45 mares last year at Chanday; 
32 of these were fecundated, resulting in the birth 
of 13 colts and 13 fillies, all alive. The progeny of 
Desarme are reputed to resemble very much their 
sire; they are all good. Desarme has served this 
year 43 mares at Chanday. I wish to keep Desarme. ' ' 




THE CHATEAU A.M> GLIilPSE OF THE STAJBLIXG AT LE PIN. 




INSIDE THE COUBTYABD AT LE PIN. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 77 

This note was written by the director of the stud. 
However, the inspector gave very little encourage- 
ment to draft horses at that time, for we find in 
different handwriting : " Ce cheval est trop commun 
pour Le Pin. (This horse is too common for Le 
Pin.)" 

A big horse called Jocko is mentioned in 1826 — 
a dapple-gray, standing about 16.2. He entered 
March 19, 1826. We here find also the first men- 
tion of Herbager, a famous stallion. There was a 
certain laxity in classifying; perhaps it was thought 
superfluous. It is fair to presume that the dapple- 
gray Le Pierrot, in the list of stallions at the stud 
in 1809, was a Percheron, although simply described 
at that time as "de trait" (draft). Herbager, for 
instance, in 1826 was classed as ''de trait," no men- 
tion being made of breed, but later we find him 
classed as a "Percheron," as also was Jocko. Her- 
bager was about 15.2, dapple-gray, with a long tail 
and dark mane. He was born in 1822 and entered 
Oct. 11, 1825. He served 35 mares at Belleme dur- 
ing his first year. 

Official Notes. — In 1827 we find this director's note 
concerning Desarme: "He has covered 43 mares at 
Chanday; 8 colts and 17 fillies resulted. Desarme 's 
colts are strongly built, and may be employed in 
farm work. I still ask that I may keep Desarme." 
Nevertheless, the inspector recommended Desarme 's 
removal. In this year we hear also of Remorquer, 
undoubtedly one of the finest of the early Percheron 
stallions used at the Pin, as will be seen from the 



78 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HOESE 

records. His color is given as "white-gray" with 
a long tail. He stood 16.2 hands, full. His sire and 
dam were unknown Percherons. We read in the 
director's handwriting: "Remorquer made his first 
season (1826) at La Ferte Bernard, where he served 
42 mares. I wish to keep Remorquer, who sires 
strong colts." The inspector's notes are: "Fine 
draft" horse; good worker; to be conserved." This 
horse was worked in the shafts after the breeding 
season was over. Joly is another "heavy draft" 
horse we hear of in this same year. He was slightly 
under 16 hands. 

At the inspection of 1829 we find the following 
note of the director respecting the Percheron Jocko : 
' ' In 1828 Jocko served 24 mares ; 8 colts and 15 fillies 
resulted. Jocko is a good draft stallion; his colts 
are good. Jocko has served this year 39 mares at 
Beaumont." Another entry on same page: "Jocko 
is useful for doing the farm work at the haras. I 
ask that he may be kept. ' ' Inspector 's note : ' ' Use- 
ful for doing the work on the estate." Director's 
notes on Herbager made in 1828: "Herbager served 
32 mares at Nogent and Belleme in 1827; 23 were 
fecundated, resulting in 8 colts and 10 fillies. Her- 
bager is a good breeder; that is the reason he is in 
such great demand by the farmers. He has served 
54 mares this year at Belleme." Another note in 
different handwriting states: "Herbager is in great 
demand around Belleme, because he is such a sure 
breeder. This draft stallion does useful work. " (He 




VISCOUNT DE TONNAC VILliENEUVE— DIEECTOR OF THE HABAS DU PIN 
SINCE 1911— PRIOR TO THAT SUBDIRECTOR AJSIT) RIDING MASTER FOR A 
PERIOD OF FIFTEEN YEARS— AN EXPERT JUDGE AND FERVENT ADMIRER 
OF THE PEBCHERON HORSE. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 79 

worked on the estate as a draft horse.) Inspector's 
note: "Useful for farm work." 

Remorquer "covered 44 mares at the haras in 
1827; of these 23 were fecundated; 8 colts and 11 
fillies resulted. Remorquer gets good colts; he has 
served 41 mares this year at the haras. This draft 
stallion is a good worker in the shafts; very useful 
for work on the estate. ' ' Mention is made this year 
of Inconstant, a draft stallion slightly under 15.2, 
born in 1823; he was light gray, slightly dappled. 
He served at Courtalain and Brabadanger in 1827. 
Of him it was said: "This stallion is well liked 
around Chanday. The farmers are pleased with the 
foals he gets. This year he has served 46 mares at 
La Ferte Bernard. He is useful for work on the 
estate; I wish to keep him." Inconstant served 41 
mares at Chanday in 1828. In 1827 Joly got 18 foals 
out of 25 mares at La Ferte Bernard. He was well 
liked. In 1828 the same horse served 42 mares at 
Chanday, and in 1829 he had 50 mares at La Ferte 
Bernard. The inspector's note on Remorquer, 1829: 
"A draft horse of great power." 

From the inspection of 1830 we take the following: 
"In 1828 Jocko covered 22 mares; 6 colts and 2 fillies 
resulted. Jocko does not get many foals. However 
he works very hard as a draft horse (on the estate) ; 
his colts are good ones. This year Jocko has served 
39 mares. Besides doing the season at the stud, he 
is employed at all kinds of work on the estate. I 
wish to keep Jocko." In 1828 Herbager served 54 
mares at Belleme, and in 1829 55 mares at the same 



80 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

place, getting 18 colts and 17 fillies. Note: "This 
stallion is very sure; liis products are good and 
as a draft horse he fulfills every condition as a sire 
that gets colts which sell well; for this reason it is 
greatly regretted at Belleme because he was not sent 
there in 1830. He has served at the haras this year, 
having covered 37 mares, besides working as a draft 
horse on the estate. To be conserved." Herbager 
was a great horse. A further note on Remorquer: 
"He works very hard and does the season at the 
stud besides. Farmers say that he gets good colts. 
In 1829 he had 45 mares at the haras. ' ' Joly served 
28 mares in 1828, and in 1829 he had 50 mares at 
Chanday. Note: "The colts got by Joly are well- 
formed." In 1830 Joly had 45 mares at La Ferte 
Bernard. 

Superior entered the haras in February, 1828. He 
was a little lower than 16 hands. He did the season 
at Nogent, getting 13 colts and 10 fillies out of 35 
mares. His record reads: "His colts are good, but 
as he has sired some sorrels and a certain shade of 
gray which does not please the farmers, he is not in 
so great demand as his merits warrant." In 1829 
he served 39 mares at Nogent, and in 1830 besides 
being employed as a work horse he served 39 mares 
at Chandayon. 

Directors and Inspectors Disagree. — As showing 
the prejudice which the government inspectors sent 
from Paris had against these early draft stallions, it 
appears that in almost every case at the annual 
inspection, where draft animals were concerned, the 




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ENTRANCE TO THE HARAS DU PIN. 



THE RENAISSANCE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION 81 

inspector's note recommends that these draft stal- 
lions be kept only as work horses and should not 
be allowed to serve — this in spite of the high recom- 
mendation of certain horses by the director of Le 
Pin, who was best able to judge their merits. The 
truth is, that the government inspectors discounte- 
nanced the use of draft horses. They wanted all 
the mares in the country to be served by blood 
horses. They were always obsessed by the necessity 
of finding cavalry remounts. However, we find that 
the director continued to use these Percheron 
stallions for breeding purposes just the same, despite 
the inspector's recommendations. It is amusing to 
observe the director's note, year after year: "I wish 
to keep this horse," and then the inspector's note 
under it: "To be used as a work horse only; should 
not serve mares. ' ' Then the next year we read that 
the stallion had served mares and done work on the 
estate besides. And so it continues year after year. 
The obvious fact is that the farmers were pleased 
with the colts they were getting from this draft 
blood. They were increasing the size of their horses, 
which were doing good service in the fields and 
probably bringing better prices at this period than 
army horses. 



CHAPTER IV. 
EVOLUTION FEOM WITHIN. 

We have seen that about 1809 the government 
began adding draft stallions to the coach and saddle 
types maintained in the Haras du Pin, and that these 
did considerable service as well as the heavy hauling 
about the establishment. Work was apparently about 
all that the army officers thought they were fit for, 
and from their standpoint the inspectors were doubt- 
less right enough. The farmers of The Perche, how- 
ever, were not to be turned from their now clearly 
apparent determination to produce a bigger horse. 
Normandy might breed all the army remounts she 
liked. The Perche had other plans, seeing which the 
departmental and central government authorities set 
forces in motion that soon brought important results. 
This aid took the form of government inspection and 
approval of certified stallions and a bonus to the 
owner. We find the first reference to this epoch- 
marking step in 1818. 

Prizes Stimulate Effort. — The ''Annuaire Statis- 
tique et Administratif du Dept. d'Eure et Loir pour 
1819," after reciting the fact that ^'formerly, from 
the province of ancient Perche, horses suitable for 
the dragoons and hussars were obtained, and also 
excellent cobs for the stage-coach service, ' ' refers to 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 83 

the desire of tlie authorities and intelligent breeders 
to "improve the species of horses natural to the 
country, suitable for withstanding prolonged fatigue, 
and on that account very much in demand." We 
quote : 

"The Count of Breteuil has taken effective meas- 
ures to improve the horses in The Perche, and, in- 
cidentally, to better the breeding establishments. 
His decree of the 27th of August, 1818, approved the 
16th of September following by His Excellency the 
Minister of the Interior, empowers an inspector to 
visit all the stallions destined for service and to in- 
dicate those having the necessary qualities rendering 
them fit for the purpose, and also to see that only 
those mares suitable for coupling with such stallions 
are allowed to be covered. Each stallion owner will 
receive a booklet containing the names of his horses. 
The list of entires appropriate for public stud work 
will be published and exposed at the prefect's office." 

In the same publication for 1820 we find the fol- 
lowing: 

' ' The excellent breed of Percheron horses belong- 
ing to the Department is appreciably improved since 
a selection of the stallions has been practised and 
prizes awarded to the finest brood mares. Owners 
of approved stallions receive from the government, 
for each year the horses are kept at stud, 100 to 300 
francs as a pension, according to the quality of the 
stallion. 

"At the Courtalain fair, held on the 25th of No- 
vember, and at the Nogent market on the Saturday 
preceding St. Andrew's Day, prizes are awarded to 
the farmers possessing the best brood mares that 
have been served by the stallions approved by the 
government, or by stallions owned privately, pro- 



84 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

vided they have been declared suitable for public 
service. M. Barre, farmer at Maintenon, has just re- 
ceived a medal from the government in recognition 
of his great care given to his horses. 

''Nogent-le-Rotrou has four fairs, which attract 
great gatherings. Many horses are sold there." 

Notice should be taken of the fact that in these 
original inspections not only had the stallions to be 
certified before being permitted to serve, but the 
mares offered for service had also to be approved. 
This brings us to the presentation of the incon- 
trovertible proof of the correctness of M. Fardouet's 
statements already quoted. 

The National Archives in Evidence. — Clearly the 
original manuscripts in the National Archives at 
Paris are not to be disputed, and they reveal a story 
of splendid service rendered to The Perche by the 
government of France in the days when the horse- 
loving people of that province were seeking to lay 
the foundations of an industry that was destined to 
add millions to the wealth of French and Amer- 
ican farmers. In these archives the detailed story 
of the creation of the Percheron horse of heavy 
draft, so long untold is revealed, and we need 
not say that it gives us much pleasure thus to be 
able to clear away misconceptions heretofore handed 
down, substituting fact for fiction, and authentic 
records for mere traditions; thus placing underneath 
the records of the Percheron societies of France and 
the United States the data that anchors their founda- 
tions in the bed-rock of an official registration dat- 
ing back now nearly one hundred years. 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 85 

It will be shown in the following pages that the 
splendid work of the French government in giving 
bonuses or prizes to approved stallions of the Per- 
cheron breed dates simultaneously from about 1820 
in the Departments of Eure-et-Loir (Arrondissement 
of Nogent), Orne (Arrondissement of Mortagne), and 
Loir-et-Cher (Arrondissement of Vendome) — the 
very cradle of the Percheron breed. Later, the De- 
partment of La Sarthe entered upon the same good 
work. We have already shown that the beginning of 
Percheron breeding at the Eoyal Haras du Pin com- 
menced about the same time. We quote now exclu- 
sively from the original documents (manuscripts) 
in the National Archives at Paris, covering the for- 
m.ative period of the modern Percheron. 

First Approved Stallions Near Nogent. — The first 
three approved stallions in the Nogent district were 
Superb, Le Curieux, and Le Percheron. Superb be- 
longed to M. Debray, Margon, just outside of No- 
gent. He was a dapple-gray, and was approved on 
the 14th of August, 1820. His bonus was fixed at 
300 francs a year, and he was considered the best 
stallion at that time. In 1822 he served 42 mares, 
from which 29 foals were born. In 1823 he had 58 
mares. Five of the mares were described as "Per- 
cheron-Norman, " the others were "Percherons." 

Le Curieux was owned by M. Chevet, Coudray. 
He obtained first prize as an approved stallion in 
1821. He was four years old, and is described as a 
"Percheron suitable for draft purposes," dapple- 
gray, with a light-colored head; he was got by a 



86 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horse called Bonliomme, ''out of a mare of M. 
Cochin." These particulars, besides others, are given 
on the certificate issued to the owner. In height 
this horse was about 16.1 hands. Le Curieux was 
again approved in 1822 and in that year had 60 
mares. In 1823 he served 110 mares, 23 of which 
belonged to one owner, a M. Lememe. Five Picardy 
mares were served by Le Curieux in 1823; there were 
also several Normans, but about five- sixths were 
Percherons. In 1824 he served 47 mares in the com- 
munes of Bazoches-Gouez, Chapelle-Royal, Charbon- 
ieres, St. Bomert, Souance, Bethonvilliers, Vich- 
eres, Coudray, Etilleux and St. Lubin, all in Eure- 
et-Loir. In addition he served 74 mares in the De- 
partment of Orne (communes of Masle and Ceton) 
in the same year. From the 47 mares served in Eure- 
et-Loir, 31 foals were born; 19 of these were gray 
in color. In 1825 Le Curieux served 101 mares in 
all; 34 were in Eure-et-Loir, and of these 13 were 
gray, 7 black, 6 red-roan, 2 brown, 4 bay and 2 chest- 
nut. 

In 1825 Aubert, belonging to Cottereau of Coudray, 
not far from Nogent, served 90 mares, 25 of which 
were gray, 8 black, and 19 bay. This stallion ob- 
tained an approved bonus of 240 francs. 

Le Percheron was approved on Aug. 14, 1820. He 
is described as a seven-year-old bay, of the Per- 
cheron breed. He belonged to M. Guillemain Conie, 
and served only two years. He received an annual 
bonus of 100 francs. In 1821 he served 47 mares. 

Grand Pierre, Bijou and Le Coq. — We next come 



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EVOLUTION PROM WITHIN 87 

to Grand Pierre, owned by Dieu, of Coudray. This 
horse was born in 1818 and was a dapple-gray. He 
served 60 mares in 1824, among them one belonging 
to M. Ducoeurjoly, a probable ancestor of Ducoeur- 
joly, one of the first members of the French Per- 
clieron Society. The mare was a gray and she bore 
a filly foal, also gray. Grand Pierre got 37 foals 
from the 60 services. In 1825 he had 61 mares and 
in 1826 he served 64. We next find Bijou, owned 
by M. Vasconcelles, Houssaye (commune of An- 
verre). In 1824 he had 54 mares, and the result was 
36 foals. Then comes Le Coq, a great stallion be- 
longing to Benoit, Illiers. In 1824 he served 101 
mares and 70 foals resulted. In 1825 and 1826 he 
served 75 mares each year. This stallion was dap- 
ple-gray, and stood a little over 16 hands. Bijou 
was also dapple-gray, but only 15.1^/2 hands high, 
though he is described in the certificate as "Per- 
cheron, heavy draft. ' ' He was evidently in great de- 
mand, in the years 1825, '26, and '27 serving 116, 124, 
and 135 mares. 

Liberally Patronized. — In 1827 we find that a letter 
was sent from the Minister of the Interior (Bureau 
des Haras) to the Prefect of Eure-et-Loir ordering 
1,070 francs to be paid to the following stallioners: 
Benoit (2 stallions), 400 francs; 240 francs to Cot- 
tereau, of Coudray; 100 francs to Dieu, Coudray; 
180 francs to Monnier Vasconcelles, Anverre; and 
180 francs to Marechal (sometimes written Marchal), 
St. Germain-le-Gaillard. 

Aubert, one of the horses already mentioned, was 



88 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a strawberry-roan born in 1820 and standing slightly 
over 15.3 bands. He served 90 mares in 1825 and 91 
in 1826. He belonged to Cottereau. In 1827 he had 
77 mares. Lecoenr belonged to Benoit. He was a 
light-gray, about 15.3 hands high, and was born in 
1819. In 1825 he had 65 mares and 115 in 1826. 
There were many blacks and grays among the mares 
served by this horse in 1826. Marechal owned a 
horse called Le Percheron (not the one previously 
mentioned). He stood about 16.2 hands high, a dap- 
ple-gray. In 1825 he had 108 mares, among them 
being 8 belonging to one Labiche. In 1826 he served 
117 mares and in 1827 he had 88. According to the 
Minister of the Interior's letter, dated 18th of June, 
1828, we find that Cottereau 's stallion Aubert was not 
allowed to serve mares after that date. In 1827 he 
had 88 mares. Mention is made of an approved 
stallion, Le Braillard, which served 73 mares in 1826. 
Marechal 's Pierrot, a dark dapple-gray born in 1822, 
was approved the 25th of November, 1826. Pierrot 
got 82 living foals in his first season out of 113 mares. 
Big Horses in Service. — That the big stallions were 
popular in those days is instanced by the list of mares 
served by the "heavy draft" stallion Le Grand, that 
stood 17 hands high and was dapple-gray in color. 
He was owned by Toutay, of Coutretot, and served 
in the Nogent district. In 1826 he had 112 mares, 
and in 1827 he served 91. In the list of mares served 
by the approved stallions about this period we find 
that the dapple-grays are becoming more numerous 
and bays occur less frequently. In 1829 le Grand had 




TRITON, TYPE OF PERCHERON STALiLION USED AT THE GOVERNJIENT STUD. 




PEtROHEKON STAULIONS AT IE HARAS DU PIN. 



EVOLUTION. FROM WITHIN 89 

60 mares, and in 1830 lie had 63, 16 of which were 
dapple-gray and 9 of other shades of gray. There 
were also 9 blacks among the number. Toutay had 
another stallion, approved the 18th of November, 
1828, called Charles, dapple-gray, and described as 
' ' heavy draft. ' ' He stood 16 hands high. Beausang 
(Madame Toutay) and I'Eveille, (serving in the 
Chateaudun district) are two other stallions men- 
tioned at this time. Beausang stood 15.3 hands high, 
and was dapple-gray. L'Eveille was also dapple- 
gray, measured a little over 16 hands, and was born 
in 1823. He served 109 mares in 1828. In 1830 he 
had 78 mares, "gris pommele" — dapple-gray — 
greatly predominating among these colors. He was 
authorized, but not approved at this time. In 1831 
he had 85 mares. 

We next hear of Cottereau's 16-hand white-gray 
stallion Franconni. He had 82 mares in 1829 and 101 
mares in 1830. Bijou, already mentioned, served 120 
mares in 1829 and a still larger number in 1830. We 
note also that Le Cadet, born in 1824, dapple-gray, 16 
hands high, served 117 mares in 1829 and 136 in 1830. 
Margot, a dark gray of about 15.3 hands, belonging 
to M. Facheux in the Chateaudun district, serv^ed 53 
mares in 1828, 54 in 1829, and 64 in 1830. Benoit 
had a stallion at this time, Le Eobuste, a 16.2-hand 
dapple-gray born in 1823 that served 107 mares in 
1829 and 111 in 1830. 

Le Coq Goes to Belgium. — In 1829 the fine stallion 
Le Coq was purchased by the director of the St. Paul 
Riding Academy, Brussels. This is the horse that 



90 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

was owned by Benoit. According to a letter found 
among the documents relating to the approved stal- 
lions, 2,540 francs was offered for Le Coq at the fair 
of St. Andre before he was approved. The letter is 
written by the Prefect of Eure-et-Loir to the Min- 
ister of the Interior. In 1828 Le Coq served 154 mares 
and in 1829 had 116 mares. Bijou had 130 mares 
in 1828. Cottereau's stallion, Braillard, served 64 
mares in 1828 and the same number in 1829. At 
the end of the 1829 season this stallion broke his 
thigh while serving a mare, as attested by affidavit 
made out at Coudray on the 7th of October, 1829. 
Le Grand had 81 mares in 1828, 60 in 1829, 72 in 
1830, and 52 in 1831. The owner of Le Grand 
(Toutay) had also another approved stallion at this 
time, called Le Veau Eaye. He had 60 mares in 1828, 
61 in 1829, and 55 in 1830. This stallion, born in 
1824, was dark gray and 16 hands high. 

In 1831 the owners of the approved stallions in 
Eure-et-Loir were Benoit, Madame Toutay (Beau- 
mont), Guillaumin, Gaubert, Cottereau, Toutay, and 
Marechal. Toutay and Marechal had each three 
stallions. Benoit had two stallions; one, Le Cadet, 
served 120 mares in 1831 and 145 in 1832, while the 
other, Le Pommele, born in 1827, and standing 16.1 
hands full, had 95 mares in 1831 and 108 in 1832. 

More Big Gray Horses. — Marechal's Le Bijou (an- 
other Bijou, probably a son of the first), born in 
1826, had 112 mares in 1831 and 61 in 1832. The 
same owner's Le Pierro, a dapple-gray of 16 hands, 
born in 1826, had 106 mares in 1832. Marechal's 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 91 

third approved stallion was Le Courtois, dapple- 
gray, born in 1828. He served 68 mares in 1832. 
There is also a stallion mentioned at this time, Le 
Deve, 16 hands in height and a dark dapple-gray, 
born in 1828, that served 61 mares in 1832. Gaubert 's 
stallion, Largneux, served in the Chartres district. 
He was dapple-gray, 15.2 hands high, and had 57 
mares in 1831, 50 in 1832, 53 in 1833, and 51 in 1834. 
Guillaumin had also a stallion named Le Coq (not the 
Benoit stallion) that served at this time. He had 
101 mares in 1831 and 111 in 1832. Toutay's Le 
Grand, the 17-hand stallion previously mentioned, 
that served near Nogent had 59 mares in 1832; he 
was then ten years old and Ducoeurjoly had a gray 
mare served by him in that year. Toutay's Le 
Charon, a 16-hand dapple-gray born in 1828, had 63 
mares in 1832. The same owner had another stallion, 
Dorchene, which died from colic. This fact is attest- 
ed by the mayor of the commune. One of the wit- 
nesses was a M. Chouanard (8th of June, 1832), a 
probable ancestor of the well known Chouanard 
family of breeders near Nogent. Dorchene served 
60 mares before he died in 1832. Franconni had 64 
mares in 1831, the same number in 1832, and 55 in 
1833. 

Others in Nogent District. — In 1835 the amount of 
bonuses given to approved stallion owners in Eure- 
et-Loir was 1,580 francs, as follows: 400 francs to 
Toutay (2 stallions), 340 to Benoit (3 stallions), 200 
to Guillaumin, 150 each to Marechal and Dieu, 120 
each to Cottereau and Gaubert, and 100 francs to 



92 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON IIOKSE 

David, making a total of 10 stallions, the majority of 
them in the Nogent district. Toiitay's stallions this 
year were Le Grand and Le Percheron. In 1833 Le 
Grand had 72 mares, and in 1834 he served 60 mares. 
Benoit's Le Pommele served 109 mares in 1833, and 
111 mares in 1834. The same owner's Le Coquet had 
82 mares in 1834, while his third stallion, Le Cadet, 
had 107 mares in 1833 and 68 mares in 1834. Guillau- 
min 's Le Coco received a prize of 200 francs and was 
probably a very fine stallion. In 1832 he had 90 
mares, in 1833 he had 91 mares, and in 1834 63. 
Largneux served 53 mares in 1833 and 51 in 1834. 
Dieu's Le Poulet had 53 mares in 1833 and 56 in 1834. 
We should have mentioned also Le Bijou, belonging 
to a M. Thion, that had 60 mares in 1833. .Cottereau's 
Franconni, now described as '"white" in color, had 
50 mares in 1834. David's stallion (name not given) 
served 82 mares in 1834, and from his services in 
1833 we are told by the records that he got 49 living- 
foals. 

In the Department of Orne. — From the documents 
relating to the Department of Orne the splendid 
work of these early approved stallions runs concur- 
rently with those in Eure-et-Loir. We first hear of 
a dapple-gray stallion belonging to M. Launay, Mau- 
vaisiniere, near Mortagne. This horse got 23 foals 
from the 1824 season. Louis Pelletier, tenant farmer 
at Corbon, had a stallion, Le Bijou, that made the 
1825 season, serving 38 mares. Just as in the case of 
Eure-et-Loir the full list of mares is given together 
with date of service, height of mare, color, age, the 



W iirii 




H. PELLiETrER OF lA BEKNUCHE, OBNE. 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 93 

name of owner, etc., certified correct and stamped 
with all the seals of the mayors in the several com- 
munes in which the mares were served. 

All the mares, with hardly an exception, are de- 
scribed as ''Percherons. " The first list will give a 
correct idea of the colors prevailing at that period. 
Among the mares served by Pelletier's horse in 1825 
there were 13 grays, 9 bays, 1 brown-bay, 4 blacks, 
and 3 chestnuts. The mares were not so high as 
those in the Nogent district; hardly any were over 
15.2 hands. Some mares were served in Eure-et-Loir 
by Launay's horse, and he also served mares in La 
Sarthe. Launay's old stallion book is found among 
the records ; it is bound in sheepskin, with a raw-hide 
lace attached to close it. On every page appears the 
stamp of the mayor of the different communes. That 
is why we can state that his horse served a few mares 
out of his own department, as we find the mayor's 
stamp of Buissaye (3 mares) and Reveillon (1 mare), 
both places in Eure-et-Loir. It seems that Launay's 
horse began serving in 1822, but the list is lacking. 
We find, however, a statement that he got 26 living 
foals out of 31 mares. It should have been men- 
tioned that the first full list of Launay's mares was 
in 1823 — 91 mares — but the observations made re- 
specting the colors apply to 1825. It is a very simple 
matter to find the colors of any given year, however, 
if greater detail is deemed necessary. 

In 1823 all the mares are described as Percherons 
except 9 Brittany mares, and one Normandy mare. 
"We find the name of Aveline for the first time in 



94 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

1823 at Moiit Gaiidray. He had a browii-bay mare 
served by Laiinay's horse. 

Service for 12 Francs. — In Launay's notebook for 
1822 we read the following interesting detail: "Mares 
to be served three times, after Avhich payment of 12 
francs for the service shall be made, and 1 franc, 
50 centimes for the groom." Several of the farmers 
had two or three mares served. Some of these men 
are described as land-owners, while others are tenant 
farmers. Launay's horse received a bonus of 200 
francs a year, as shown by a letter from the director- 
general of the haras at Paris to the Prefect of Orne 
transmitting money to be handed over to Launay. 
Pelletier's horse got 33 foals from the 1825 season, 
and 32 from the 1826 season. This horse was a dap- 
ple-gray, standing 17 hands high, and his prize money 
was 150 francs a year. M. Lefort had a dapple-gray, 
described as "Percheron, heavy draft," born in 1821. 
In 1826 he served 26 mares, and in 1827 he had 32 
mares. He stood 16 hands high. 

At Mortagne in the Early '30's.— In 1830 there 
were three approved stallions in the Arrondissement 
of Mortagne. Two belonged to Pelletier, and the 
other to Jacques Gem. Geru's horse, Hercule, was a 
dapple-gray, 16-hand, heavy draft, born in 1825. He 
served 52 mares in 1830, and 58 in 1831. Pelletier's 
stallion, Le Bijou, born 1825, was, dapple-gray; he 
served 35 mares in 1830, and, the same number in 
1831. Most of the mares were under 15.2 hands at 
this time in that part of The Perche. They are, 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 95 

however, all described on the stallion sheets as ' ' Per- 
c herons. ' ' 

. In 1833 the approved-stallion owners in Orne were 
Pelletier (2 stallions), Dutheil of Eperraix, Herrissay 
and Guerree. Guerree's horse was about 15.3 hands 
high and dapple-gray in color. Dutheil 's horse was 
described as "heavy draft," standing 16 hands high, 
a gray — slightly dappled. In 1834 he served 51 
mares, and in 1835 he had 35 mares. There is also 
another stallion mentioned. Bijou, which served 30 
mares in 1834, and 38 mares in 1835. He was 17 
hands high, was born 1829, and was dapple-gray in 
color. Herrissay 's stallion, born 1830, a 16-hand dap- 
ple-gray, served 34 mares in 1834 and 32 mares in 
1835. He had another horse, described as ' ' white ' ' 
in color, which served 35 mares in 1834 and 32 in 1835. 
The ow^ners of approved stallions in Orne in 1834 
and '35 were Leconte, of Veuville (2 stallions, 350 
francs); Pelletier, Corbon (2 stallions, 400 francs); 
Herrissay, St. Germain de Martigny (200 francs); 
Guerree, Fremongene (100 francs). Herrissay 's 
Bijou served 53 mares in 1835, and 60 mares in 1836. 
Bijou (Guerree's) served 60 mares each year in 1835 
and '36, while L'Ami ( Pelletier 's) had 32 mares in 
each of those years. The mares served by Herrissay 's 
horse measured from 15 to 16 hands. Already there 
seems to be an improvement in the size. Leconte 's 
Cuirassier was not a Percheron. He is described as 
a heavy coach horse, dark chestnut in color and 
served in the coach-horse district — around Argentan, 
that part of Orne lying in Normandy. He served 56 



96 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

mares in 1836. The other Leconte horse was a sad- 
dler, and served only 19 mares in 1836. All of these 
jtallions had to serve a minimum of 30 mares in order 
to obtain the bonus. 

In La Sarthe. — We first find record of La Sarthe's 
"guring among the departments having approved 
jtallions in 1832. M. Cousin, commune of Peray, had 
I dapple-gray stallion, born 1827, slightly under 16 
hands, which served 40 mares in 1832, 43 mares in 
1833, and 42 in 1834. We find the names of Aveline 
and Hamelin among the owners of mares served by 
this horse. Another approved stallion was M. Pierre 
Abot's horse Mouton, "dapple-gray, heavy draft," 
born 1828, 16 hands high. He had 57 mares in 1833, 
but in the following year was not allowed to serve. 

Loir-et-Cher. — In the department of Loir-et-Cher, 
in that part of the department lying in The Perche 
(Arrondissement of Vendome) very intensive breed- 
ing of Percherons took place, beginning about the 
same date as in the other departments, and we find, 
just as in the case of the stallions in the other dis- 
tricts mentioned, that those in Loir-et-Cher were 
practically all grays of different shades. 

The first approved stallion we find record of in 
this district belonged to a M. Ferrand. He was a 
silver-gray, of 15.2 hands, and was described as 
heavy draft. In 1827 he served 103 mares. Then we 
find a record of Coco, a slate-colored gray with four 
white feet, belonging to M. Richandeau, St. Gourgon. 
He stood about 16 hands. In 1830 there were two 
approved stallions. One of these was Coco, and 




Toi>— Chas. AveOine, Loui^ Aveline and il. E. Junes in Chas, A^eline■s pastures. 
Middle— Paul Chouaiiaid looking at cattle at jM. Tacheau's. Bottom— Same 
individuals as seen in top picture.— SCENES IN THE PEK.GHE. 



I 



Evou Ti;ix rir :a w.tjiix 97 

45 foals were born as the result of his first season. 
Ferrand 's horse served 94 mares in 1830, and 106 in 
1831. In 1831 more bonuses were given for ap- 
proved stallions. T. Tardiveau's Moulinet, a dapple- 
gray of 16 hands, born in 1823, served 140 mares in 
1831. Another dapple-gray belonging to Tardiveau 
is reported to have served 181 mares in 1831. There 
was another stallion belonging to a M. Crignon, Me- 
rainville. 

In 1832 we find a growing interest in Percheron 
breeding in this section. Ferrand had three horses, 
and Eichandeau, Tardiveau and Crignon one each. 
Crignon 's horse served 32 mares in 1832. Moulinet 
had 151 mares in 1832. Ferrand 's horse served 86 
mares in 1832. Another of his horses (name not 
given), born 1823, a heavy draft of 16 hands, gray, 
served 102 mares in 1831 and 94 in 1832. His third 
stallion was also 16 hands high, white in color. He 
served 98 mares in 1832. Tardiveau's horse served 
108 mares in 1832. A stallion belonging to Tardi- 
veau, authorized but not approved, 17 hands higli, 
gray, served 85 mares in 1831 and 84 in 1832. 

In 1833 there were about seven or eight approved 
stallions, and 1,150 francs was distributed in bonuses. 
Ferrand had three horses, and T. Tardiveau, Richan- 
deau, Crignon and P. Tardiveau one each. All these 
stallions were either white, dapple-gray or silver- 
gray with white manes and tails; all were "Per- 
cherons." Gray greatly predominated everywhere 
in this country among the mares served, according to 
the lists; and the stallions are remarkable, not only 



98 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

for the number of mares served, but also for tbeir 
fecundity, as evidenced by the attested lists of liv- 
ing foals from the seasons' services. In 1834 Fer- 
rand had three approved stallions, which served 101, 
105 and 103 mares. The other stallioners were T. 
Tardiveau, P. Tardiveau, Contangeau, Chevet (Mont- 
doubleau), and Thereau. None of these stallions 
served fewer than 80 mares, while some of them had 
considerably more than a hundred. 

This part of The Perche has always been noted 
as a mare country, although buyers — Americans, at 
least^ — do not visit the centers like Montdoubleau, 
Savigny-sur-Bray and Droue as frequently as for- 
merly. Nevertheless, a great many colts from 
that region get into the hands of the stallioners 
around Nogent and are ultimately sold for export to 
America. 

A Broad Constructive Policy Continued. — It might 
be interesting, although somewhat wearisome, to 
undertake to extend this sort of data further, but we 
have already brought it down through the formative 
period named so accurately by M. Fardouet. More- 
over, this carries the French side of the narrative 
well down towards the beginnings of the export trade 
with the United States, and we must now be turning 
our attention to our own side the Atlantic. Suffice 
it to say, therefore, that this same system of bonuses 
and inspection was continued in The Perche, and 
with happy results. 

Speaking of the policy pursued during the years 
succeeding those so fully covered by the foregoing 



EVOLUTION PROM WITHIN 99 

notes, the Abbe Fret, from whom we have so fre- 
quently quoted, says: 

' ' Since 1836 the desire to ameliorate agriculture in 
The Perche has made great strides among the farm- 
ers. A noble emulation has been set by creating 
' prizes of encouragement, ' an agricultural committee 
having been established at Nogent, which unites 
annually under the presidency of the Count de Bussy. 
This committee has already justified the hopes of its 
founders and is spreading its influence over the re- 
gion. A depot of stallions has been established at 
Nogent, at the barracks of St. Denis, by the Haras 
du Pin, which has greatly improved the horses of 
the Percheron breed. They have distributed prizes 
at Nogent to the owners of the finest brood mares. ' ' 

A few more records and we shall conclude this 
discussion. In the "Bulletin de la Societe Roy ale de 
Mans" is an interesting account of an agricultural 
show held at Mamers in 1838. Prizes were given for 
the best draft mare having foaled during the year, 
age 4 to 9 years; also for the best colt, two to three 
years, and the best filly, same age. All were to be 
of the Percheron breed. Agricultural shows at which 
Percheron horses were exhibited also took place at 
Saint Calais, Beaumont-le-Comte, Saint Pater, La 
Ferte Bernard and Marolle-les-Braults. 

At a show held at La Ferte Bernard on the 19th of 
September, 1841, a M. Torsay won the first prize on 
a light fliea-bitten gray mare, about 16.2 hands high 
and eight years old. Second prize went to M. Vin- 
cent on a steel gray, five years old, of about the 
same height. A black mare, six years old, measuring 
about 16.1, received honorable mention. It will be 



100 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

seen from this that there were big drafty mares in 
The Perche even in those days. M. Eichard won the 
first prize on fillies with a brown bay of about 15.2 
hands, and second prize went to M. Prudhomme on 
a filly of similar color, about the same height. 

In stallions first prize went to M. Pennetier, and 
second to M. Fleurida. These stallions had no com- 
petition, as evidenced by the following: 

"Although these stallions had no competitors, the 
judges nevertheless thought they ought to be 
awarded prizes as presenting in the highest degree 
the qualities which constitute a stallion suitable for 
the production of draft colts, and it is probably owing 
to the superiority of these two individuals that one 
must attribute the absence of competitors." 

At the show in the same town in 1842 M. Pennetier 
again won first prize in stallions with a horse of 
16.3 hands, dapple-gray, six years old. In the fol- 
lowing year M. Tacheau, probably the grandfather of 
the present noted stallioner and breeder, won first 
prize in fillies. 

Outcrossing Exaggerated. — Had the Percheron, 
then, during this evolution, received no crosses from 
other breeds! Very likely experiments were tried, 
but it is entirely clear that misguided alliances with 
extraneous blood were never permitted specially to 
influence the race in its entirety. The specific and 
inherent qualities of the type were always conserved 
intact. Unsatisfactory colts, the product of occa- 
sional infusions of blood from other breeds, w?re 
promptly set aside as work horses and not al- 
lowed to reproduce their kind. No men are more 



1 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 101 

tenacious than those of The Perche. None knows 
better than the Percheron farmer himself which 
type of horse suits his needs best. 

The possible influence of an introduction of a few 
Picardy mares near Montdoubleau about the begin- 
ning of the 19th century has been grossly exagger- 
ated. We have had an examination made of the 
original sheets containing full descriptions of the 
native mares served in The Perche by the approved 
Percheron stallions from the time these approved 
stallions first began their work, and only in a few 
instances do we find the name ''Picardy," as applied 
to the "provenance" of the mares, mentioned. This 
blood was quickly eliminated, as is shown by ref- 
erence to later documents. But long before the or- 
ganization of the stud book the purity of the breed 
was almost guaranteed by the fact that only the most 
typical sires were allowed to serve mares. Each de- 
partment had very stringent rules to assure the 
purity of the breed. No stallion could serve mares 
without official permission first having been obtained. 

As to Color. — With respect to the black color 
which became popular some years ago much has 
been said by way of insinuating that this came from 
an outside source. There have always been plenty 
of black mares in The Perche. Precise information 
touching this is to be found in the government serv- 
ice sheets. Every stallion sheet that we have had 
examined, beginning about 1820, alludes to black 
mares of the "Percheron" breed. The breeders of 
The Perche, like other men, cater to their customers, 



102 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and they were easily able to produce blacks in con- 
siderable numbers from within the breed itself by 
natural selection. 

When the special demand for blacks abated, stal- 
lions of that color were discarded and the farmers 
began to put their mares again to grays. Similarly, 
if a craze for bays had sprung up years ago, it would 
have been possible to produce bay colts all over The 
Perche. The first Percheron specifically mentioned 
in the records of the government stud, as has already 
been set forth, was of that color. The gray color, 
however, has always been common to the Percheron, 
and it was through the influence of the approved stal- 
lions which we have listed that this color became 
predominant. The stallions used in The Perche, 
almost without exception, during the early formative 
period were grays, and of these nearly all were dap- 
ple-gray ("gris pommele"). 

That was the period when the popularity of the 
Percheron as a stage-coach or diligence horse had 
reached its zenith. Three important turnpike roads 
from Paris to the coast passed through The Perche, 
and as the railroads had not yet come traveling was 
by diligence. Some of these coaches also carried the 
mails, and good time had to be made regularly. The 
lighter Percheron of those days was considered ideal 
for this work, and the gray color pleased the pro- 
prietors because the teams could be seen more dis- 
tinctly at night. The introduction of railroads caused 
the Percheron later to be drafted into omnibus work, 
principally at Paris, where thousands of these dap- 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 103 

ple-gray horses in matched couples and threes were 
until very recent years a familiar sight. 

Passing of the Diligence Type. — But even before 
the railways came, under the influence of the service 
of the large approved stallions we have mentioned 
the breed was becoming more drafty, a fact which 
called forth some protest, as is evidenced by a report 
made at a meeting of the Agricultural Society of 
Mans, on Feb. 5, 1845, from which we quote: 

* ' It is an incontestable fact that the stallion shows 
of this department (Sarthe) have produced satis- 
factory results. But, really, what do we want today ? 
Light, vigorous draft horses for our artillery, mail 
coaches and diligences, the number of which has 
been doubled since twenty years ago. We need 
horses capable of doing about 7 to 10 miles an hour, 
at least, in harness. Shall we obtain these results 
with heavy horses, only suitable for heavy draft 
work and large exploitations?" 

The Beauce was asking for larger horses to do the 
plowing and to prepare the land for the wheat crop. 
This region is contiguous to The Perche, and is called 
the ''granary of France." The growing population 
of Paris, which has always taken most of the Beauce 
wheat, compelled more modern methods of culture 
on the part of the grain-growing farmers of that fer- 
tile region. Oxen were gradually being discarded 
and heavy horses were being used in greater numbers 
throughout all France. The call upon The Perche 
for material of this sort was not only persistent but 
it came from many different districts. 

Some Conclusions. — The more profoundly one 



104 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

studies The Perche and its history, the more firmly 
one is persuaded: first, that the Percheron horse is 
a product of this ancient province and indigenous to 
the basin of the Seine, and second, that he has been 
developed and has acquired his most distinguishing' 
characteristics through judicious breeding within the 
territorial limitations of The Perche itself. Centu- 
ries of evolution in a small country where the soil, 
the climate, the forage, and the very air itself con- 
duced in the highest degree to the production of 
good horses have accomplished the result so admired 
today. 

Modifications of type have taken place in the past, 
and no doubt will appear in the future. All draft 
breeds have undergone mutations to meet the chang- 
ing exigencies of the times. During the Dark Ages 
the native horse of The Perche was in demand as a 
war horse. Later we know that in the 17th century 
depredating bands frequently entered The Perche, 
primarily for the purpose of appropriating the fine 
horses known to be there. Although we have no 
historical facts to prove that Rotrou III sallied forth 
from Nogent with his numerous retinue of knights 
and vassals, all mounted on the light type old-time 
Percherons, when he went to fight the infidels in the 
Holy Land in 1095, history does not tell us, on the 
contrary, that other than native horses were em- 
ployed in this expedition, or in the second Crusade, 
or in the campaign against the Saracens in Spain. 
To all of these martial exploits many of the seigneurs 
of The Perche contributed their quota. 



EVOLUTION FROM WITHIN 105 

Through many generations during various periods 
of the Percheron's history the same old families 
have been engaged in producing colts in this won- 
derful nursery of good horses. The names of some 
of those who have contributed largely to the making 
of Percheron progress will be mentioned in a subse- 
quent chapter. The specially rapid maturing quali- 
ties of the Percheron, and the extraordinary plas- 
ticity of the breed have served these persistent breed- 
ers admirably in their eminently successful effort to 
produce larger horses. All this has been brought 
about under the stimulating influence of foreign gold 
by a rigorous selection of the breeding materials, 
rational working of the brood mares, and liberal 
feeding of the young stock with suitable grain and 
forage. 

This, then, is a fair account of the original evolu- 
tion of the modern type in France, so far as can be 
ascertained by an exhaustive examination of all 
available records pertaining to it. The famous stal- 
lions appearing in the first volume of the Percheron 
Stud Book of France were undoubtedly the direct 
descendants of the government-approved stallions 
listed in the foregoing pages. It will be observed 
that the long record so carefully examined at the 
expense of much time and labor yields the name 
of but one stallion in service during this period 
described as a "Boulonnais," and he was not owned 
by a Percheron farmer but belonged to the govern- 
ment. The Perche was increasing the weight of 
its own horses by free recourse to the services of the 



106 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

larger stallions and mares selected and mated with 
this particular object in view, under official inspec- 
tions. The stallions named in this chapter, and they 
alone, are the true historic forbears of the heavy 
draft Percherons of the years that followed their use. 



CHAPTER V. 
FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA. 

Somewhere on the shaggy shores of the mighty 
seaward outlet of the Great Lakes, quite probably 
at Quebec, the first horses brought from the old to 
the new France were debarked. Doubtless within 
the crypted chests of the churches and monasteries 
of Canada records of horses imported in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries lie buried deep in 
the dust of time, but in none of the public documents 
of the Dominion, church or state, is there mention 
of such shipments. Louis XIV sent some mares and 
a few stallions from the Royal stables in 1665, 1667 
1670, but they were not of a sort well suited to the 
purposes of agriculture. Other stallions besides the 
few donated by the king must have been imported 
by the colonists themselves and these in all probabil- 
ity were of a sturdier, more useful type. After the 
cession to Britain in 1760 the insular types assumed 
the ascendancy, save in the old French settlements. 

The primeval forests of the Lower St. Lawrence 
were first seen by Jacques Cartier, the French ex- 
plorer, in the year 1535, but it was not until 1609 that 
Champlain began building upon the now historic 
rock of Quebec. This event marked the beginnings 
of Canadian agriculture, and to this day the horses 

107 



108 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of the province of Quebec, in the hands of the de- 
scendants of the first "habitants," reveal in their 
activity and endurance, if not in size, something 
of the character of the sturdy, fast-traveling, long- 
distance trotters for which France had been famous 
for generations. More than a century ago the native 
horses of eastern Canada offered in their conforma- 
tion indisputable proof of a Gallic origin, but so 
altered to meet the exigencies of a new country as 
to be entitled to recognition as a distinct type. 

Authentic Records Begin.— The first stallions im- 
ported into North America from France of which 
there is record in all probability did not come from 
The Perche. The so-called "McNitt Horse," 
brought into Canada in 1816, was a dapple-gray 
standing from 15.2 to 15.3 hands high. At the time 
he was imported the French government, as we have 
already shown, was just beginning at the Haras du 
Pin to give a more or less grudging support to the 
idea of developing heavy drafters in The Perche. 
While the breeding and origin of the McNitt 
Horse, or European, as he was sometimes called, 
cannot now be fixed, it is clear that he was of a type 
then in favor in France. He weighed around 1,200 
pounds and was a trotter of renown. Moreover, he 
proved a successful and prolific sire. His sons were, 
as a rule, so superior to the native stock of the time 
that many of them were kept entire and used in the 
stud. At a rather advanced age he was brought 
into Washington County, New York. Both he and 
several of his sons were popular in the Empire State 




EDWABD HABKIS OF NEW JEHSET— PIONEEIB IMPORTER OF PERCHERONS. 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICxV 109 

and New England, but whatever mark they may have 
left upon the horses of that portion of the United 
States was later effaced by the stronger blood of imp. 
Messenger, a Thoroughbred and also a gray, whose 
stock even to the second and third generations 
proved popular in the east. 

Alexander's Norman. — One son of the McNitt^ 
Horse gained a measure of renown in this country. 
This was the gray Morse Horse, sire of Alexander's 
Norman, a noted stallion taken from New York state 
to Robert A. Alexander's famous Woodburn Farm in 
Kentucky some time during the '50 's of the last 
century to sire work horses. This he did with suc- 
cess, and incidentally he founded a small and com- 
paratively unimportant family of trotters. The 
name of this horse would indicate that the French 
type probably had been preserved in his case. 

Diligent search of old newspaper files and such 
public documents as are available reveals no proof 
of further importations from France for a long 
series of years. There is a tradition that at some 
time between 1820 and 1831 gray French horses 
Avere imported into Maryland, but if so all traces 
of them, their owners, and their history have van- 
ished. 

First Importation to the States. — In 1831 Edward 
Harris, a resident of Moorestown, N. J., was travel- 
ing for pleasure in northern France and became so 
impressed with the excellence of the hardy horses 
that hauled the heavy diligences in which he tra- 
versed the country that he determined to ship a few 



110 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

specimens to the United States. It was not, how- 
ever, until 1839 that he succeeded in putting this 
determination into effect, and then bad luck pur- 
sued his venture; only one of the first four head 
shipped reached America alive, and this sole sur- 
vivor was a mare. Nothing daunted, Mr. Harris 
immediately took ship again for France, and re- 
turned this time with two stallions, one named Dili- 
gence, and two mares, one of which died shortly 
after landing. This importation, it would appear, 
had only a passing influence on the native stock of 
New Jersey. One of the stallions went blind during 
his first year in this country and was permanently 
retired from service. One of the mares named Dap- 
ple proved a non-breeder, while the other, Joan, a 
gray, produced a gray colt, a chestnut filly, and a 
bay colt at successive foalings, all being got by the 
gray Diligence. Joan's next and last foal, born in 
1856, was a bay by Harmer's Norman, a stallion 
said to have been imported and not hitherto located, 
but which will be definitely referred to later on. 
Diligence was a compactly built horse standing 
about 15 hands high, and according to his owner he 
begot about 400 foals. He died in 1856. One mare, 
Julie, foaled in 1851, and two stallions. Diligence 2d 
and Louis Philippe, all by Diligence, were entered 
among the foundation animals accepted for registry 
in the first volume of the American Stud Book. 

Ohio Importations of 1851. — In another volume the 
author has shown that the cattle stocks of the mid- 
west states were profoundly influenced by the im- 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 111 

porting operations of the enterprising farmers of 
south-central Ohio carried on at intervals during 
a long series of years beginning in 1834. These men 
were mostly of Virginia extraction and never could 
abide inferior domestic animals. Their attention 
was first given to their herds and flocks, which 
acquired in due course a nation-wide celebrity. 
Their love for a good horse Avas proverbial, but it 
first expressed itself in an attachment to the English 
Thoroughbred or blood horse and to those wonder- 
fully gaited saddlers which are still the pride of all 
men and women of Virginia stock. Nevertheless, we 
have here to credit to these same public-spirited 
Ohioans of the old school the bringing in of the 
original seed from whence the gTeat Percheron har- 
vest of our own times has been reaped. In short, 
we have now to record that the importation into 
Ohio in 1851 of the two French stallions Normandy 
and Louis Napoleon was followed by results of 
which their importers little dreamed, and that in 
the career of the one in Ohio and of the other in 
Illinois we have revealed the solid base upon which 
the subsequent popularity of the French horse of 
heavy draft throughout the United States really 
rests. 

It would be interesting if we could trace the exact 
origin of these two successful stallions, but this is 
now impossible. We know that they were not 
bought in The Perche by the men who imported 
them. The importers probably never had heard the 
name. It is a fact, nevertheless, that at that date 



112 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The Perche was a prolific producer of horses of this 
type, and that, as we have already shown, the farm- 
ers of that province were free sellers of colts to out- 
side buyers.* It will never be positively known, 
however, whether or not these horses were of the 
true Percheron blood. What little is known about 
the breeding of Normandy is vague and of Louis 
Napoleon's ancestry nothing whatever is available. 
We know that both were bought in the vicinity of 
Rouen and that Normandy was bred near that city, 
but from what sort of ancestry tradition sayeth 
naught. Their importers had not penetrated as far 
as The Perche. Here are the known facts: 

Normandy, or Pleasant Valley Bill. — Hitherto it 
has been popularly supposed that in 1851 two stal- 
lions only were imported from France, the one being 
Louis Napoleon 281 and the other Normandy 351, or 
Pleasant Valley Bill, as he was well-nigh universally 
known during his lifetime. So far tradition has been 
right as to the importations, but wrong as to the 
number of horses. Dr. Marcus Brown, Circleville, 
0., really imported two stallions, so that in 1851 
three entire horses came from the northern part of 

* In a book entitled "European Vineyards," written more than 
fifty years ago, Mr. Wm. J. Flag-g, speaking of the heavy horses in 
harness in the Bordeaux district, says: 

"Two farmers, whom I afterwards met while traveling in 
Normandy, told me the Perche country was really the home of the 
breed and that it was their custom to buy there six months' colts, 
which they raised and broke, working them from two years old, 
and selling them when they got to be five or six years old, the 
prices obtained for full-grown and well-broken animals ranging 
from $200 to $250. I am glad to learn they are at length bringing 
them to America, -where a late importation sold for prices which 
averagred $2,500." 



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FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 113 

France to Ohio. Proof that Dr. Brown imported 
two stallions is complete, or rather that Samuel 
Holman, Chester Springs, Pa., who was entrusted by 
Dr. Brown with the task of procuring for him a 
French horse, bought two with Dr. Brown's money 
and took one of them for himself. 

Among Dr. Brown's papers turned over in con- 
nection with the sale of a half -interest in "Old Bill" 
to the late T. C. Bigelow, Columbus, O., there is a 
letter from Samuel Holman dated at London, Eng- 
land, July 10, 1851, which reads: 

' ' I leave these few lines to info mi you that I have 
used the £100 got of you for the purchase of a 
horse. I have bought two, one for you and one for 
myself. The one is a two-year-old and the other 
three years old. They are strong able colts. I sup- 
pose will weigh 1,200 to 1,400 pounds each now. The 
color does not please me exactly and another objec- 
tion I had to them was that they cut all their foals - 
tails off as soon as they are foaled in this country and 
consequently both are short-tails. Their colors are 
darkish silver, black legs, manes and tails. How- 
ever, I concluded to risk them." 

The remainder of the letter goes into details con- 
cerning shipping. Attached to this are the original 
French certificates of sale and identification, inter- 
esting mainly as descriptive of the breed to which 
these horses belonged, thus: 

"Rouen, July 1, 1851. 

"I do hereby certify that the two Diligence colts 
purchased from me by Mr. Sam'l Holman of the 
United States of America were bred and raised by 
me and from my best brood mares. The stock is 



114 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

pure and I consider them as fine as I ever sold and 
I doubt whether a better pair of colts can be found 
in all Normandy. 

''Z. PIMONT." 

Follows then this certificate: 

"Havre, July 16, 1851. 

' ' This is to certify that I shipped the two Norman 
colts bought by Mr. Samuel Holman of Z. Pimont 
of Eouen on the 8th day of July, 1851, on board the 
ship Scianne, Capt. Williams, consigned to R. W. 
Hopkins & Co., New York. I am Avell acquainted 
with M. Pimont and his stock of horses and know 
they are of the finest diligence stock, as he keeps 
no other kind on his farm. This stock of horses 
is held in high estimation here on account of their 
great bone and muscular power, quick action and 
durability and I consider the pair sent as a fair sam- 
ple of the stock. 

"Y. BARBE." 

Next comes the statement of the import agents in 
this wise: 

''New York, August 30, 1851. 

"We do hereby certify that the two gray horses 
consigned to us by Mr. Samuel Holman when re- 
ceived on board the packet ship Scianne, Capt. 
Williams, on the 12th day of August, 1851, in good 
condition, and delivered them according to his or- 
ders, one to his brother F. Holman, and the other 
to Doct. Brown of Ohio. 

"R. H. HOPKINS & CO." 

These letters readily attest the fact that two 
diligence stallions were imported by Dr. Brown and 
Samuel Holman in 1851. Further reference will 
be made to the Holman horse. These letters and 
certificates prove that Pleasant Valley Bill, or Nor- 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 115 

mandy, and liis mate were of the "true diligence 
type." Fortunately we can even at this late date 
tell, approximately at least, what the type was like 
from the illustration of Normandy presented here- 
with. Tliis cut was made from a large and very 
clear daguerreotype in the possession of T. L. Bige- 
low, Columbus, 0., son of and successor in business 
to the late owner of the horse, and to whom we 
desire to express our thanks for his aid in reaching 
the exact history of this importation. It will appear 
that Louis Napoleon and Pleasant Valley Bill were 
of two distinct types, though imported from the 
same district of France in the same summer. 

A Great Career. — Just past two years of age when 
imported, Normandy 351 Avas located by Dr. Brown 
at his home town of Circleville, 0., and at first was 
not very popular in the stud as a country stallion. 
Dr. Brown has left no written statement among his 
papers intimating whether he intended when he 
started for Europe that spring to buy a stallion or 
not. He was an enthusiastic advocate and supporter 
of all improved methods of agriculture and stock 
breeding, hence it is considered more than likely that 
he had such an importation in mind when going 
abroad in the spring of 1851. For years he owned 
the Pickaway County fair grounds at Circleville, 
and gave their use free of charge to the Pickaway 
County Agricultural Society. He once offered to 
donate Normandy to that organization provided it 
would stand him for public service at the fair 
grounds, but that offer was curtly declined and in 



116 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

1856 Dr. Brown sold the liorse to Bigelow & Marshall, 
who removed him to the town then called Pleasant 
Valley but now known as Plain City. There the 
stallion achieved a splendid reputation, begetting 
an amazingly numerous progeny and finally passing 
into the hands of the late Thomas Jones, father of 
C. M. Jones, now treasurer of the Percheron Society 
of America and resident on the old homestead. In 
his possession Normandy died in 1874 full of years 
and honors, having been owned by Mr. Jones just 
ten years. Many good stallion colts as well as fillies 
remained after him, and his descendants were widely 
disseminated. 

While at Plain City Normandy became variously 
known as ''Pleasant Valley Bill," "Old Bill," and 
"The Valley Horse," the title by which he is best 
remembered being the first of these. Few people 
knew that his real name was Normandy 351. He 
did more than any other horse to popularize the 
French type in the state that reaped the benefit of 
his ser^dces. He was extraordinarily prolific and is 
known to have begotten as many as 110 colts for 
which the fees were paid in a single season. Of 
his extreme fertility the late Thomas Jones is quoted 
in Volume 1 of the Percheron Stud Book of America 
as having said: 

"It is safe to say that he averaged sixty colts a 
year for eighteen years and that they sold at three 
and four years old for an average of $200, many of 
them having brought $500 each, and some as much 
as $1,000. It was when the United States govern- 
ment began scouring the country for good horses 




Timothi/ L . Bigeh w 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 117 

during tlie War of the Rebellion tliat the seal of 
fame was set upon Valley Bill for all time. His get 
readily brought from $50 to $125 more than the 
common stock of the country where he stood, the 
general belief being that those who had Bill's colts 
to sell to Uncle Sam received on an average $80 per 
liead for them more than was paid for other varie- 
ties." 

His get were wonderfully uniform, none of them 
very large, and the great number of red-roans which 
followed his cover has given rise to a belief quite 
general in some quarters that he was when young 
of that ruddy hue, shedding out to white at a com- 
paratively early age. As a matter of fact, however, 
in his youth he was a silvery gray with dark legs, 
mane, and tail and later became well-nigh snow 
white. Nothing need be said here descriptive of liis 
conformation. Our illustration shows more clearly 
what he was like than could be told in words. He 
stood about 15.3 hands and weighed between 1,300 
and 1,400 pounds. 

The Holman Horse. — Not nearly so much is known 
of the three-year-old gray diligence colt that accom- 
panied Pleasant Valley Bill on his journey from 
Havre to New York. Lewis E. Holman, son of 
Samuel Holman, the importer, Phoenixville, Pa., 
takes up the thread of the story from the time the 
two colts reached New York in 1851 in the following 
statement: 

"Gray Billy, as we called our horse, was shipped 
to the home of my father's brother, Frederic Holman, 
to await my father's arrival. Prom there he was 



118 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

brought to our farm on wliicli we still live and always 
have lived. The reason we do not know his age 
when he died is that after keeping him many years 
we sold him to a Mr. Bird of New Jersey. How 
long he lived after that we do not know. His weight 
was between 1,300 and 1,400 pounds. His colts were 
fine and he was a sure foal-getter. He was not popu- 
lar at first, but it was not long before he was appre- 
ciated, though not in our immediate neighborhood. 
Buyers came from New York and many places of 
distance to buy his colts as they were remarkably 
fine and far superior to the colts by ordinary horses. 
He was a dark silver, dappled, three years old, one 
year older than Valley Bill. He was perfectly gentle 
and for his size very active, as were all of his colts. ' ' 

The illustration of Gray Billy is from a curious 
old oil painting in the Holman home near Phoenix- 
ville, Pa., our engraving being a facsimile reproduc- 
tion, without effort to correct its manifest crudities. 
Gray Billy is thus identified with the hitherto un- 
placed Harmer's Norman, Holmes' Norman, Hol- 
man 's Norman, and Duke of Normandy 172, recorded 
under that number without date of birth or im- 
portation, or other data. 

Louis Napoleon. — In 1851 in the course of a trip 
abroad three Ohio men — Erastus Martin of Wood- 
stock, Pearl Howard of the same place, and young 
James Fullington of Milford Center, a member of 
a family distinguislied in Ohio agricultural history — ■ 
went from England to France in quest of Merino 
sheep. Somewhere in the neighborhood of Eouen 
Martin saw a gray stallion with which he was deeply 
impressed — a big one possessing the distinction of 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 119 

being kept for stud service alone. As to where he 
came from history is silent. This horse took Mr. 
Martin's fancy, but all efforts to buy him proved 
futile. Not to be foiled entirely, however, he did the 
next best thing and bought a three-year-old full 
brother described at that time as "a raw, unfinished 
colt" but promising to attain good size. 

Mr. Martin paid $350 for the colt and on rejoining 
his comrades told them what he had done, express- 
ing his belief that such a stallion would do a good 
business in the part of Ohio from which they came. 
Besides, it would not cost much to get him homo 
with the rest of the stock. Pearl Howard declined 
point blank to invest any of his money in so big a 
stallion, but young Fullington, who was merely trav- 
eling with the party on a pleasure jaunt, committed 
his brother Charles, then a well-known figure in Ohio 
stock-breeding circles, to pay for a half interest in 
the horse. 

Landed safely in the Darby Plains country of 
Ohio, Louis Napoleon, as this French-bred colt had 
been named, met with a chilly reception. The late 
James H. Sanders, founder of the American Per- 
cheron Stud Book, who was born and lived as a 
young man in central Ohio, has left the following 
statement concerning this horse: 

"Louis Napoleon was a gray three-year-old of 
good size, but not of the largest type, short-legged, 
closely ribbed, blocky, and compact, with a neck 
rather short and head a little too large for elegance, 
but withal clearly cut, about I51/2 hands high, and 



120 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

weighing, in full flesh, about 1,600 pounds. At that 
time he was a dark iron-gray, but long before his 
death, he became perfectly white. 

''At this time the writer was living within a few 
miles of Messrs. Fullington and Martin, and well 
does he remember the jokes that were hurled at 
Charley Fullington for what was called his folly in 
bringing such a horse all the way from France. The 
chunky, short-legged, gray colt and his importers 
were the butt of every horseman in that country; 
but the Fullingtons believed in him firmly, and bred 
several mares to him in the spring of 1852. His 
service fee that season was put at $10 to insure, 
yet such was the prejudice against him that only 
ten mares were bred to him, and seven of this num- 
ber belonged to his owners. In the meantime, Mr. 
Erastus Martin had come to the conclusion that the 
horse was destined to prove a bad investment, and 
accordingly, he embraced an opportunity of selling 
his interest to Mr. Gordon, one of his neighbors. 

''In the spring of 1853 it was thought best to try 
a new field Avith the big gray colt, and accordingly 
he was sent to Dayton, and his service fee was fixed 
at $15 ; but he did very little better there than he had 
done during the previous season in Union County. 
Early in the summer of 1853, the few colts that he 
had got in Union County during the previous season 
began to show signs of that remarkable excellence 
that was destined soon to make the despised French 
horse famous throughout the entire west, and then 
came a demand that he should be returned to that 
county. Accordingly, during the next season (1854) 
he was again kept at Milf ord Center, Union County, 
and although his fee was placed at $15 — a price hith- 
erto unheard of in that region — he was well patron- 
ized by the people who had two years before ridi- 
culed him." 




LOUIS NAPOLEON.— DRAWN FROM AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH. 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 121 

It is related that Howard had remarked when the 
purchase of a one-third interest in the colt had first 
been suggested to him that "when he wanted to 
breed his mares to a bull he would choose one with 
horns," and that sentiment, implying that the horse 
was too big and clumsy, was very general at first 
among the owners of mares around Woodstock, Mil- 
ford Center, and contiguous territory. 

Taken to Illinois.— A. P. Cushman of DeWitt Co., 
111., a trader Avidely known in his day, while visiting 
in central Ohio that fall saw for the first time ' ' The 
French Horse," as Louis Napoleon was then gener- 
ally known. At a glance his practiced eye grasped 
the potentialities inherent in the big dark-gray stal- 
lion, then turning six years of age. To him it seemed 
merely a matter of sufficient size in the mares, and 
Tazewell, DeWitt, Logan, and other Illinois counties 
had many big ones sired b}^ Oakley's English Cart 
Horse Samson and his sons. So for $1,500 Mr. Cush- 
man acquired "The French Horse," and "roaded" 
him to his new home in the Prairie State. 

Acquired by the Dillons. — Louis Napoleon made 
the season of 1855 at Waynesville, and within the 
next three 3^ears various undivided interests in him 
were traded and sold until finally in the fall of 1858 
Ellis Dillon acquired a one-fourth interest in addi- 
tion to the half already owned by Isaiah and Levi 
Dillon, thus giving them a controlling interest. The 
Dillons, afterwards to acquire such prominence in 
the trade, were at that time residents of Tazewell 
county, and to their home Louis Napoleon was moved 



122 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and there he made the regular season of 1859. His, 
success was not great that spring and on July 4 he 
was sent to the farm of Eli Hodgson in Grand Ridge 
township, La Salle county, to stand during the fall. 
These details are offered to show how lacking the 
horse was at first in popularity. His colts from the 
Samson mares had not yet begun to show their worth. 
Purchase of the odd one-fourth interest in the horse 
had been precipitated by the declaration by Cushman 
that he would move him to Kentucky in search of 
fields more easy of conquest. During the fall season 
of 1859 Louis Napoleon covered but seven mares, 
five of them the property of Mr. Hodgson. 

Early in the spring of 1860 the fast-whitening stal- 
lion w^as returned to the Dillon headquarters, and 
as his foals developed his business in the stud in- 
creased. By mid- summer the demand for his services 
had become pressing and great secrecy was main- 
tained regarding the date at which he was to be 
moved again to the Hodgson farm in La Salle. Young 
Martin Hodgson — still a prosperous breeder, and for 
many years a member of the firm of Prichard & 
Hodgson, now dissolved — rode the white horse home 
in the dead hour of the night following the celebra- 
tion of the national holiday. But so keen had been 
the scouting that when the journey was ended at a 
little before dawn, it is related that no less than 
forty-two mares were tied to the fences surrounding 
the Hodgson homestead awaiting their chance to be 
bred or booked. He had served but seven the season 
before. It is at this point, therefore, that we un- 




CHABLES OAELEY— OWNER OP SAMSON. 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 123 

cover tlie real foundation of the popularity of the 
French horse of heavy draft in the western states. 

Louis NajDoleon made several spring seasons in 
Tazewell county and fall seasons at the Hodgson 
farm in La Salle. In 1864 he was moved by the Dil- 
lons to Normal, in McLean county, where some two 
years later he became so badly infected that the 
operation of penotomy was resorted to in the hope 
of partially preserving his utility in the stud. After 
this, it is related, he sired three foals, dying in 1871 
on the farm of B. Caldwell in Woodford county to 
whom the Dillons had presented him. First and last, 
it is believed, Louis Napoleon begot some 400 foals, 
not one of which was out of a purebred mare. Only 
the merest traces of his blood are discovered among 
our registered stock, a few recorded via the top- 
cross route descending from him. His number in the 
Percheron Stud Book is 281. 

There is no question whatever that to the excel- 
lence of his colts and fillies from mares of Samson 
(English) blood was due the high degree of popu- 
larity which Louis Napoleon achieved in Illinois. 
He did far better with them than with any others. 
Practically all of his male progeny were maintained 
entire, quite a few of them selling for $800, $1,000, 
and even longer prices. He bred fairly true to his 
own color, and in the hands of so shrewd a federa- 
tion as the Dillons no stone was left unturned to 
keep him in the limelight. Displays of his grade 
colts were for years features of the Illinois State and 
other fairs. It is doubtful if there is another resdon 



124 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

in the whole United States in which we could have 
met mares of better weight or conformation. Many 
of these weighed 1,400 pounds, some as much as 
1,500, and a few even up to 1,600 pounds — big, 
roomy, shapely, solid matrons, admirably fitted to 
mate with a stallion of Louis Napoleon's size, build, 
and type. 

Various alleged portraits of this famous horse have 
in the past enjoyed a meretricious vogue, but all 
doubt as to his appearance at maturity is now defin- 
itely removed by the illustration herewith pre- 
sented, prepared from an enlargement of a small 
daguerreotype taken in 1852 when the horse was four 
years old and dapple-gray in color. In height at full 
maturity he stood between 15.3 and 16 hands, and his 
greatest weight was 1,630 pounds. 

Maryland Importation of 1853. — In Volume I of 
the Percheron Stud Book of America Col. Charles 
Carroll, Baltimore, Md., is credited with having im- 
ported the stallion Chartres 88, but no statement is 
made as to color or date of birth. In that volume, 
too, J. Howard McHenry, Pikesville, Md., is named 
as the importer of two mares — Lily 572 and Snow- 
drop 607 — gray and white in order written, but with- 
out certainty as to age. To Snowdrop the produc- 
tion of two purebred colts is assigned, both being 
stallions and both by Duke of Normandy 172^ — the 
Gray Billy imported in the ship Scianne along with 
Pleasant Valley Bill. Nothing further of the his- 
tory of these importations of 1853 has been reached. 
Both of the mares died at a comparatively early 
age, the two stallions by Duke of Normandy 172 out 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 125 

of Snowdrop being the only progeny alleged to have 
descended from them. Nothing more is related of 
the stallion Chartres and as the compiler of the stud 
book working indefatigably forty years ago was un- 
able to unearth other data, no more space need be 
occupied in their behalf. The bare facts, however, 
are interesting as showing that the home-raised 
stock of purebreds was slowly being augmented and 
as tending to fix definitely the identity of Duke of 
Normandy 172 and Gray Billy. Of the Maryland 
importations of 1853 it may then be fairly said that 
they left no sign so far as has been discovered up to 
this late day. 

Rollin Imported in 1856. — By the spring of 1856 
the few colts left by Louis Napoleon in Ohio had 
begun to display their merit and Erastus Martin, 
who had originally purchased the gray stallion near 
Rouen, in company with John Gordon, also of Wood- 
stock, 0., conceived the idea that a bay French horse 
would take well where the lighter color had failed 
of popularitj^. Accordingly an order for a bay stal- 
lion was dispatched by some of the stock buyers 
searching for Merino sheep in France and in due 
course of time the dapple-bay stallion Eollin 418 
landed at Woodstock. Great preparations had been 
made for his reception on the Gordon farm, a new 
stable having been built during the summer for his 
occupancy. This shows that a hearty welcome await- 
ed the newcomer and high hopes were entertained 
that he would prove a mighty success. Mr. Gordon 
had been associated in the last Ohio ownership of 



126 A HISTORY OF THE. PERCHERON HORSE 

Louis Napoleon, when sootli to say tlie big gray 
horse had come to be looked upon more or less as 
"trading stock," which is well proved by the terms 
of the long-time deal on Avliich he was acquired by a 
professional trader in an era when good horses were 
easily cashed. Sentiment had begun to veer, how- 
ever, in favor of the imported horse. 

Eollin was somewhat larger than Louis Napoleon, 
very thick at both ends and in the middle, not at all 
high-headed or stylisli, l)ut short-legged and drafty, 
and an impressive sire, a peculiar rotundity of barrel 
persisting in liis get and descendants for genera- 
tions, as well as a tendency to the production of 
red-roans. H. Dorr Martin, a banker of Woodstock, 
O., and son of the late Erastus Martin, says of Eollin: 

"He left a lot of good colts. I remember some of 
them — mostly bays and browns, good blocky fellows. 
When the rebellion broke out we had some of his 
stock and they sold like hot cakes. They had good 
action for such large horses." 

Despite his increased popularity, however, Eollin 
was not destined to remain long in the Darby Plains 
countr5^ Liter-ownership trouble of some sort 
forced his sale and in 1859 the big bay horse left 
the new barn that had been built for him on a journey 
west to Onarga, 111., L. Euss, later of the firm of 
Euss, McCourtey & Slattery of that point, having 
purchased him at a price recalled by Mr. Martin as 
$3,000. Eollin stood in Onarga and nearby towns 
for several seasons, doing a fine business, and in 
1865 was bought by Jas. L. Owen, Mokena, 111., as 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 127 

whose property he died six years later. He was the 
second imported stallion in Illinois and quite a num- 
ber of mares by Louis Napoleon were sent from Taze- 
well, McLean and La Salle counties to be bred to 
him. His get included few grays, bays and browns 
persisting strongly except when the red-roan cropped 
out, so that his descendants could not be readily 
followed, except by records privately kept, among 
the native stock of the region where he stood for 
service. It is certain, though, that Eollin was a 
successful sire and did much to improve the farm 
horses of northern Illinois. 

Darby Plains Importation of 1857. — Along in the 
later '50 's Ohio stockmen were very active in the 
effort to improve their sheep and cattle and in 1857 
the Darby Plains Importing Co., the membership of 
which included stockmen in Union, Madison and 
Champaign counties, dispatched representatives to 
Europe. In this delegation were Henry Guy, 
Mechanicsburg, and Charles Fullington, Milford 
Center. After they had acquired cattle and other 
stock in Britain they crossed the channel to France 
in quest of Merino sheep and horses. Journeying 
together to Rouen Mr. Fullington left Mr. Guy and 
continued further afield after sheep. 

Mr. Guy relates personally that having taken up 
a coign of vantage in front of an inn in Rouen he sat 
for days watching the horses as they were driven 
to town from the surrounding country. Finally he 
saw a four-horse outfit, the leaders of which just 
filled his eye. After much haggling he succeeded in 



128 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

buying these at $500 for the pair. The wheelers 
Mr. Guy describes as having weighed probably a 
ton apiece and entirely too big for his purpose. They 
were held at $500 each, or just twice as much as 
the smaller leaders. All were gray, but the pairs 
were of quite distinct types. A few days later a 
third stallion was bought, and also the mare Doll 
540, the first ever brought directly from France west 
of the Alleghanies. One of the pair of leaders died 
on the ocean, the survivor being the famous Baker 
Horse 21. His shipmate was Nonesuch 346, other- 
wise and in his day better known as Old Bob. This 
was probably the last importation ever made on a 
sailing ship and a terribly rough voyage was en- 
countered. Though badly battered the two stallions 
and the mare after a time reached the Darby Plains 
alive and each won way to high renown. Doll went 
through many hands and proved prolific. 

Put up at auction by the importers, the unnamed 
gray leader bought right out of the harness in the 
streets of Eouen was purchased by Dr. Baker, from 
whom he took his name, for lack of a better, and 
from that year (1857) he passed through many own- 
erships but always did well. The Baker Horse was 
not a big one by any means, weighing about 1,500 
pounds. He was of the diligence type and a re- 
markably fertile and impressive sire. In 1864 he 
was purchased by Abram Curl of Woodstock, 0., and 
he stood there until 1867. Of the Baker Horse H. 
Dorr Martin writes: 

''He was a finely shaped horse and left some of 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 129 

the best draft colts of any of tlie early importations. 
They were very tough and lived to a good old age. 
Mr. Curl had a team of horses by the Baker Horse 
which I remember very well that lived to be about 
25 years of age and worked every day. I personally 
owned a mare of this stock that raised me thirteen 
colts straight. Some of them sold as high as $300 
and $500 apiece." 

To Nonesuch 346, or Old Bob, is due the original 
popularity of the French horse in Delaware Co., 0., 
a county that has since that time been a leader in 
Ohio draft horse production. At the sale held by 
the Darby Plains Importing Co., in 1857, ''Bob" 
was bought by Peter Bland, Milford Center, one of 
the staunchest supporters of the type from the ear- 
liest days, and by him was resold to Lewis Lee of 
Delaware, at which place the stallion stood until 
the year before his death in 1875. Old Bob was about 
the same size and type as the Baker Horse and dur- 
ing his sojourn in Delaware had all he could do in 
the stud. Assuredly he made plain the path trodden 
by the breed in later times. 

- Doll 540 was the largest of the three animals im- 
ported by the Darby Plains Co. in 1857. She stood 
16.3 hands at the shoulder and weighed upwards of 
1,700 pounds, being of a larger, more rangy type 
than the two stallions that accompanied her across 
the ocean. She was possessed of the characteristic 
"Frenchy" or "creasy" rump, then a marked fea- 
ture of the horses being brought over from France. 
She was rather short and droopy in her quarters, 
had heavy bone with some feather and in color was 



130 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

gray. In the spring of 1866 Charles Fullington, who 
by that time had acquired her, sent her to the 
Thomas Jones farm at Pleasant Valley to be bred to 
Old Bill. Prior to that year she had produced four 
foals by the Baker Horse 21, those of 1858 and 1859 
dying young and those of 1860 and 1862 surviving 
and being named respectively Doll 541 and White 
Rose 613. In 1866 the late Thomas Jones bought 
old Doll 540 and the filly at her side by the Baker 
Horse 21, later named Rose 604. The price for the 
pair was $400. In 1867 she foaled the filly Eugenia 
13000 by Pleasant Valley Bill and during that sum- 
mer she and the foal were sold to A. Gill and K, L. 
Wood for $1,000. In 1869 old Doll produced the 
filly Josephine 1502 by the big horse Conqueror 109, 
a five-year-old gray of great scale imported in 1867 
by Wallace, Watkins & Co., Marion, 0. 

Shortly after this Gill & Wood dissolved their 
partnership. Gill retaining the old mare and Wood 
the filly Eugenia, which afterwards produced several 
foals for him. In 1870, again to the cover of Con- 
queror, old Doll produced the stallion Thompson 
461, probably the heaviest French colt bred in the 
United States up to that date, but phenomenally 
crooked in his hind legs. Despite that fact he is 
said to have proved a fairly successful sire. He 
and Josephine, both by Conqueror 109, were consid- 
erably larger than the others of old Doll's progeny, 
both exceeding a ton in weight. Poor old Doll did 
much for her various owners and for the breed at 
large, but Gill, who was a dour and crabbed citizen 




i Wv7 Hodgson^ \ \ M.CHodgson r 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 131 

with peculiar notions as to horse improvement, when 
she became his exclusive property bred her to a 
Belgian horse, after which her usefulness came to 
an end. The filly Rose 604 by the Baker Horse 21 
was bred as a two-year-old to Pleasant Valley Bill 
and produced three fillies in successive years to his 
cover. All of these were prolific, so that the de- 
scendants of old Doll 540 are very numerous. 

Kentucky Importation of 1859. — Following the 
Darby Plains Importing Company's venture of 1857, 
the Kentucky importation of 1859 takes chronologi- 
cal precedence. This consisted of a stallion named 
Napoleon 4th 1723 and a mare named Marie An- 
toinette. This importation was made by Dr. Nove, 
or Nave, for the Jessamine Importing Co., Nicholas- 
ville, Ky., and the horse was later transferred to 
Gen. W. C. Preston, Lexington, as whose property 
he died in 1878. The mare died in 1863 and here 
once more we find no lasting impression left upon 
the native equine stock. 

Massachusetts Importation of 1864. — About the 
end of the sixth and opening of the seventh decades 
of the nineteenth century prospects in agricultural 
America were not such as to encourage private in- 
vestment of large sums in any kind of live stock; 
indeed it was not until 1864 that further importa- 
tions were attempted. In that year the Massachu- 
setts Agricultural Society imported the stallions 
Conqueror 108 and Orleans 255 and the mares Em- 
press 542, Lyons 574, and Normandy 587. Here 
again we run up against the dead wall of oblivion, 



132 A HISTORY OF THE PBRCHERON HORSE 

the sole progeny credited to this band of five being 
a roan filly dropped in 1866 by Lyons to the cover 
of Orleans. And there their history stops. 

Gray Duke. — The horsemen of Ohio began anew 
in 1865. The shipment of that year consisted of 
but a single stallion — Gray Duke 1724, a gray foaled 
in 1863 — and was made by the G-alion Importing 
Co., of Avhich J. M. White, Cardington, 0., was the 
leading sjoirit. Mr. White was a passenger con- 
ductor on one of the early western railways and an 
enthusiastic horseman during his entire career. To 
his enteiprise may be credited the first importation' 
of French blood into the Gallon district and the re- 
sumption of the business after the close of the war. 
He personally sent money to France for the purchase 
of a gray colt and then sold one-third interest in 
the youngster to two of his friends, the three forming 
the nucleus of the later prosperous Gallon Import- 
ing Co. 

Eastern Imports of 1866. — Three stallions and the 
same number of mares were brought across the ocean 
in 1866, S. W. Ficklin, Charlottesville, Va., import- 
ing the stallions Bienvenu 37 and The Colonel 459 
and the mares Constance 530 and Eugenia 802. Both 
of these mares proved prolific and left recorded prog- 
eny behind them. 

In the same year Dr. J. Pembroke Thom, Balti- 
more, Md., imported the mare Charlotte Corday 529, 
but later sold her to J. W. Hunt, Frankfort, Ky., 
where all trace of her is lost. In 1870 and 1871 she 
produced gray fillies to Little Corporal 274, a home- 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 133 

bred horse got by Duke of Normandy 172 (Grra\' 
Billy), imported in 1851 with Pleasant Valley Bill, 
out of Snowdrop 607, imported into Maryland in 
1853. 

First Direct Importation into Illinois.— It has been 
popularly supposed that it was not until 1868 that 
horses were imported direct from France into Illi- 
nois, but the records show that in this year of 1866 
Dr. A. Gr. Van Hoorebeke brought the black stallion 
Lucifer 285 to Monmouth, which advances the date 
of direct importation into the great Prairie common- 
wealth some two years. Indeed Dr. Van Hoorebeke 
is to be credited with being the pioneer importer of 
Illinois as he brought over Lucifer 285 in 1866, the 
gray Leon 266 in 1868, the black Norma 348 in 
1869, and the gray Laurent 709 in 1870. Unfortu- 
nately, Norma died the same year that he was im- 
ported. 

Ohio Active in 1867. — Ohio importers had it all to 
themselves in 1867, Brown, Bigelow & Co., of Co- 
lumbus, and Wallace, Watkins & Co., and Gilmore & 
Houser, of Marion, being the only firms recorded as 
having engaged in the importing business that 
season. Brown, Bigelow & Co. included in its mem- 
bership Dr. Marcus Brown, of Circleville, importer 
of Pleasant Valley Bill in 1851, and the late T. C. 
Bigelow, in his time the leading team owner in the 
Ohio capital and one of the foremost horsemen of 
Ms time. It was surely the irony of fate that his 
death should have been caused by injuries sustained 
in an attack made upon him by one of the stallions 



134 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

he imported. It is to the courtesy of his son and 
successor, T. L. Bigelow, that this history is indebted 
for the portrait of Pleasant Valley Bill and for much 
authentic information gathered from his own per- 
sonal recollections and the papers belonging to the 
old finn, dating back to 1851 and including the orig- 
inal documents in French relating to the purchase 
by Mr. Holman of Old Bill and Gray Billy at Rouen 
in 1851. 

Brown, Bigelow & Co. imported in that year Na- 
poleon 325, Black Robert 54, and Duke of France 
165. Wallace, Watkins & Co. brought Conqueror 
109, a big gray horse already referred to in connec- 
tion with the history of old Doll 540, and Gilmore 
& Houser had Napoleon 2d 335, later sold to E. Dillon 
& Co., Normal, 111. The two Ohio firms last men- 
tioned were later amalgamated into the Marion 
County Importing Co., which at one time was classed 
as handling better stallions on the average than any 
one in the business at the time. ''Wat" Watkins 
was the brains of the coalition, but quit before the 
ball had been fairly set a-rolling. There is a story 
told of him in connection with the Illinois State Fair 
of 1872, which throws light on the state of live stock 
improvement in that era: 

Decatur was the place of holding the Illinois show 
that season and substantially all the men interested 
in draft horses were on hand, the count showing a 
total of forty-two imported and grade animals on 
exhibition. These were all lined up in some sort of a 
parade and "Wat" Watkins happened to be stand- 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 135 

ing next W. E. Pricliard, now, as then, a resident of 
Ottawa, 111. 

"Prichard," quotli Watkins, ^'look at that, forty- 
two head, count 'em. Tell you what; this business 
is going to be overdone and I'm going to stand from 
under before the bottom drops out of it. ' ' And stand 
from under he did, getting out of the business shortly 
afterwards, and though the family was right at the 
top of the ladder at the time, the name of Watkins 
is hardly remembered now in its old home location 
in connection with any such important position. 

Regarding the three stallions imported by the Co- 
lumbus iirm in 1867 T. L. Bigelow gives the follow- 
ing descriptions: 

''Black Robert 54, black, weight about 1,500 
pounds, of pure Norman blood, wonderful action and 
endurance. 

"Duke of France 165, bay, weight 1,750 pounds, 
•fair success in stud at fee of $20. Sold to go to Ga- 
lena, Delaware Co., 0. Bay Duke (as we called him) 
was a beautiful Norman-French horse, fine style but 
not possessing the action of the pure Norman or 
diligence breed of horses. 

''Napoleon 325, dapple-gray, weight 1,650 pounds, 
fair success in stud only. Stood mostly at Chillicothe 
and in Ross Co., 0. This stallion was awarded first 
premium at the World 's Fair held at Rouen, France, 
1866, in competition with some 500 stallions. As was 
the custom, the owner considered him sold to the 
Imperial Stud and would not put a price on him on 
that account for export. Messrs. Brown & Bigelow, 
however, through the influence of a member of the 
court, secured a personal audience with the Emperor, 



136 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Napoleon III, obtaining from him an order for the 
horse, later jDaying an enormous price. ' ' 

These details supplied by Mr. Bigelow in connec- 
tion with the stallions included in this and other im- 
portations made by the firm are of great value as 
showing the weight of the stallions then obtainable 
in France and proving the existence of at least two 
well differentiated types at that day. The name 
"Norman" was apparently given to the diligence 
or quick-moving, smaller pattern of Pleasant Valley 
Bill, while the larger, slower, more drafty sort, to 
which Louis Napoleon had belonged seems to have 
been referred to merely as ' ' French. ' ' 

Up to the end of 1867 twenty stallions and eleven 
mares had been imported from France, practically 
all of them having been purchased at or near the 
town of Eouen. In so far as can be ascertained the 
diligence type was j)referred and had done better 
with the eastern mares than the heavier horses im- 
ported. 

Louis Napoleon and Eollin, the first French stal- 
lions brought to Illinois, had the advantage of meet- 
ing larger mares than those available farther east, 
or indeed anywhere else. It is presumable that Duke 
of France, the stallion referred to by Mr. Bigelow 
as of "Norman-French" blood, was one of the heav- 
iest retained in Ohio up to that time and probably 
about the same size as Eollin. That both these 
horses were bay and hailed from the same locality 
suggests a racial connection between them. Their 
ruddy coats and superior scale would suggest also 




^ E-lUs Ditlorv \ \ IsaiahPtttofu \ 



FIRST FRENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 137 

possession of some blood distinct from the diligence 
type. Up to the close of 1867 only three imported 
stallions had been brought into Illinois and none had 
been located in any other state west of Ohio. 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE IMPORTING KECOKD TO 1870. 

More stallions and mares were imported into the 
United States from France in 1868 than during all 
the previous seasons, the figures being 31 stallions 
and 8 mares. Seven of the mares were brought across 
the sea by the late Gen. W. T. Walters, Baltimore, 
Md., and the remaining one by Jeff C. Clark, Nor- 
mandy, Mo. 

Importers of stallions in 1868 included, besides the 
two already named, the Gallon Importing Co., Gallon, 
0.; Wallace, Watkins & Co. and the Marion County 
Importing Co., Marion, 0.; Brown, Bigelow & Co., 
Columbus, 0.; Dwight Gay, Columbus, 0.; Fulling- 
ton, Phellis & Co., Invin Station, 0.; A. G. Van 
Hoorebeke, Monmouth, 111., and W. J. Edwards, Clif- 
ton, 111. Territorial expansion was the order of the 
day and greater size seems to have been sought in 
France by most of the importers. Practically all the 
stallions were bought in the towns of Eouen, Amiens, 
Elboeuf, Boulogne, and Havre. The Paris dealers' 
stables were also resorted to. The exact origin of 
the imported horses of this period will never be 
known, and this statement will apply with equal 
truth to many a good horse brought to America from 
France in subsequent years. It is clear that those 

138 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 139 

wlio brought out the earlier Ohio stallions were not 
men who had made any special study of the business. 
The Perche, as such, was to them more or less a terra 
incognita. They knew nothing of what had been 
going on in that district for fifty years preceding 
their visits. The buyers of Louis Napoleon and 
other horses were not even in quest of horses. There 
were no stud books. No pedigrees were obtained, 
and none of these early buyers appears to have made 
any effort to seek out the real fountain head of the 
type that was destined to play such an important 
part in the development of draft horse breeding in 
the United States. In good time, however, this was 
discovered and commonly recognized. 

Of the Missouri importation, consisting of two 
stallions and one mare, no information can now be 
secured further than that conveyed by the records. 
In Illinois the case is far different, because on the 
importation of Success and French Emperor by W. 
J. Edwards was raised by the late Mark Wentworth 
Dunham the most magnificent success ever achieved 
by one man in the heavy horse business. 

A Profitable Business. — By this time the importa- 
tion and sale of imported stallions had settled down 
to the level and dignity of an established trade 
and prices ranged in this country between $2,000 and 
$3,500. In France prices remained on about their 
old scale. Among Dr. Marcus Brown's papers is a 
memorandum showing that the five stallions he 
bought in 1868 for Brown, Bigelow & Co., cost laid 
down in Columbus, 0., an average of $578.68. One 



140 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of the five was a Belgian which proved so utterly un- 
reliable in the stud that he never succeeded in get- 
ting a mare with foal. In consequence he was never 
recorded. Another member of this importation, 
Black Leopard 50, had considerable Belgian blood 
in his veins; he was of medium stature and a fine 
mover. It was this horse that killed Mr. Bigelow. 
With the expansion of the business westward and 
the development of the fillies by earlier imported 
stallions, there arose an insistent demand in some 
quarters for more weight. Importers found it also 
to their advantage to be choice in the matter of in- 
dividuality when making their selections abroad. 
Profits were very satisfactory. Sales were quite gen- 
erally for cash and guarantees of reasonable sure- 
ness as foal-getters had not yet been exacted by pur- 
chasers. Service fees had reached a remunerative 
level and were going higher. In short the whole 
business had begun to take on that air of prosperity 
in which it was swathed a decade later. 

Activity in Ohio. — In almost all of the importa- 
tions of 1868 one or more stallions of outstanding 
merit were included. For instance, in the Gallon 
company's lot of half-a-dozen, the largest importa- 
tion brought over that year, no less than three — 
Napoleon 733, Puelo 752, and the oddly named Pluri- 
bustah 747 — gained something more than local re- 
nown in the stud. While most of the imported stal- 
lions still ranged in weight between 1,600 and 1,700 
pounds several imported that year were much 
heavier. 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 141 

The transactions of Brown & Bigelow that season 
will serve to illustrate the nature of the business as 
carried on in that distant day. Importers of the 
present time will be interested in the following par- 
ticulars : 

Black Leopard 50 was the dearest horse of the lot, 
costing 3,020 francs, or $604, in France. He was con- 
sidered by Mr. Bigelow the best horse he ever saw 
and after making many very profitable seasons at 
$20 the mare he was sold at the age of sixteen for 
$1,000. Diligence 137 cost $364, was sold for $2,500, 
and stood all his life at $20. Coburg, the stallion that 
covered 100 mares and never got one of them with 
foal, cost $264 in France and brought $2,500. Two- 
thirds of this price was on time and the notes were 
returned. Dictator 134 cost $620. An offer of $3,000 
was refused for him. He made ten big seasons at 
$20 a mare. Vigorous 486 was acquired for $204 and 
found a buyer at $2,200. There seems to have been 
no direct connection between size and price, as the 
two highest priced stallions in this lot. Dictator and 
Black Leopard, were in the order written the largest 
and the smallest in it. The average price paid for 
the five stallions abroad was $413, but as gold was 
at a premium they actually cost the average previ- 
ously named. 

From all accounts the three lighter stallions in 
this lot, Black Leopard, Diligence and Vigorous, all 
weighing from 1,600 to 1,650 pounds, did quite as 
good business in the stud as the larger Dictator, 
which scaled 1,900 pounds. The heavier sorts were 



142 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

yet very much in the minority, the proportion of 
three light to one heavy in this importation probably 
holding good for all the others. The figures for the 
Brown & Bigelow lot tell the story of the business 
at that time. 

In the importation brought over by the Watkins 
federation of Marion, 0., was the never-to-be-forgot- 
ten Napoleon 2d 337, purchased that fall shortly 
after landing by the firm of Llewellyn & Prichard, 
Ottawa, 111., which consisted of W. E. Prichard, still 
of that place, and his brother-in-law. Napoleon 2d 
was a very shapely gray horse of superb quality. He 
sprang into instant popularity when brought to Illi- 
nois. He was later commonly known as ' ' Old Poley ' ' 
and that sobriquet soon became familiar throughout 
La Salle and adjoining counties. Mares were brought, 
so great was his renown, over 40 miles to his court. 
Later his fame extended all over the state and his 
sudden death in 1877 deprived the budding heavy 
horse industry of the Prairie commonwealth of its 
best foal-getter. He cost $3,300. 

Of the Fullington-Phellis lot no less than three dis- 
tinguished themselves more or less as sires in cen- 
tral Ohio. These were Duke of Normandy 168, 
Prince Albert 385, otherwise known as ''Jim," and 
Prince Imperial 388, better remembered locally as 
' ' Old Charley. ' ' This firm was composed of Charles 
Fullington, back in 1851 part owner of Louis Napo- 
leon, and Charles Phellis, one of the best known 
stockmen and one of the most advanced of Ohio 
agriculturists of his day. 




PEEOHEEON STALLION HEECULBS— IJIPOBTED IN 1S68 BY W. T. WALTEBS. 




PEK.CHEEON STALMON MOKOCK— IMPOETED IN 1868 BY W. T. WALTEIRS. 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 143 

The Walters Percherons.— To Gen. W. T. Walters, 
Baltimore, Md., clearly belongs the credit of having 
been the leading importer and breeder of the Atlan- 
tic Coast country of the early day. 

In 1868 he brought across the ocean four stallions 
and seven mares, establishing them on his estate just 
outside Baltimore. It may be said fairly that the 
gray diligence horse of France became an obsession 
with him. He was a man of wealth, position and 
large affairs. He resided in France for a consider- 
able period and during his sojourn in that country 
became deeply impressed with the adaptability of 
the Percheron to American conditions. He formed 
a connection with one of the officials of the French 
government stud who assisted him in making his 
selections. He contended that the diligence type was 
suitable in every way for use before a gentleman's 
carriage. He sought generally the lighter weights, 
and seated in his platform spring wagon or double 
carriage drawn by a pair of what he always called 
Percheron mares, driven by a colored coachman, he 
was a familiar figure on the Baltimore drives. 

Gen. Walters never overlooked an opportunity to 
promote public interest in his Percherons, and hav- 
ing ample means at his command he was in a position 
to go as far as he liked. He caused a translation of 
Du Hays' history of the Percheron horse to be made 
and published at his own personal expense. He dis- 
tributed among his friends a splendid quarto volume 
profusely illustrated with plates of stallions and 
mares made from photographs by Schreiber of Phila- 



144 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

delphia, then and for long years afterwards the fore- 
most live stock camera artist of America. The repro- 
ductions herewith of plates from Gen. Walters' pri- 
vately circulated book disclose at a glance the type 
of horse he favored. 

The late Dr. Ezra Stetson, Neponset, 111., procured 
some of the Walters mares, and their descendants 
proved among the most useful horses of the early 
days of Porcheron breeding in the middle west. 

Old Success Imported. — W. J. Edwards, Clifton, 
111., was a patentee and manufacturer of improved 
road-construction machinery, a traveler, a gentle- 
man, and the possessor of untiring energy. In 1868 
he journeyed to Europe and when he returned to 
Clifton brought with him three imported stallions 
— a bay which was the largest of the trio, French 
Emperor 203, and the gray Success 452. Just where 
he acquired the bay and what became of that big 
horse diligent research has failed to reveal. These 
three stallions made seasons in Clifton in 1868, and 
that fall the two grays were purchased by the 
Fletcher Co., Wayne, 111., which took its title from 
its first president, the late Mark Wentworth Fletcher, 
father of James Moore Fletcher, w^ho some years 
later in connection with Oaklawn, and afterwards 
on his own account, became a leader in Percheron 
circles. Success attained great celebrity, as will be 
noted further on. 

M. W. Dunham Enters the Business. — In this 
Fletcher company, as one of its members, was the 
late Mark W. Dunham, Wayne, 111., one of the most 




HERCHERON STALLION SULTAN— IMPORTED IX ISSl BY W. T. WALTERS. 




FERGHERON JIARE ALcENE— IMPORTED IN 1866 BY W. T. WALTERS. 



THE IMPORTING RECOUD TO 1870 145 

resourceful and far-sighted men ever identified with 
animal breeding in North America. Firm in the 
conviction that a great future lay before the French 
horses in the United States, Mr. Dunham bought 
out his colleagues in this enterprise and there and 
then founded the great importing and breeding 
enterprise which has made the names of Dunham 
and Oaklawn household words among the draft horse 
breeders of two continents. His subsequent stu- 
pendous success will necessarily come in for frequent 
reference as our story progresses. 

Napoleon Bonaparte. — While no very direct ac- 
count can be given of the events which followed 
the introduction by Jeff C Clark of French blood 
into Missouri, further than as contained in the rec- 
ords, the facts seem to be clear enough. Eugenia 
802, the gray mare imported by Mr. Clark that 
year as a four-year-old, proved prolific, though un- 
reliable as to the color of her progeny. Mr. Clark 
seems to have held on to his imported horses for 
some seven years, when he disposed of Eugenia to 
Henry V. P. Block, Aberdeen, Mo., and the stallion 
Napoleon Bonaparte 334 to the Pike Co., Mo., Horse 
Association, Louisiana, Mo. Of this gray horse it 
is of record that while weighing close to 1,600 
pounds he was possessed of coach horse conforma- 
tion, style and beauty, quality and action. More- 
over he was quite fast at the trot. There is a tradi- 
tion, of sufficient moment at the time to induce the 
discriminating compiler to record it in Volume I of 
the Percheron Stud Book, that Napoleon Bonaparte 



146 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

trotted a mile over the old St. Louis fair grounds 
track in 3.42, pulling a four-wheeled coupe contain- 
ing four men. Bismarck, the stable companion of 
this fast traveler, in 1874 became the property of 
Dr. Stetson of Neponset, 111., but apparently he did 
not meet his views, as in the year following he 
passed to the same company that owned Napoleon 
Bonaparte. 

This covers quite closely the main facts which 
transpired in 1868, the most memorable year since 
the inception of the importing business. Almost as 
many mares were imported as had thitherto crossed 
the ocean — 8 as compared with 11 head — and the 
number of imported stallions had been increased 150 
per cent, the figures from 1839 to 1867 inclusive be- 
ing 20 as compared with 31 in 1868. Imported 
horses had penetrated as far west as Missouri and 
the second and third direct importations had been 
made into Illinois. By far the most important fea- 
ture of the year was the entrance of Mark W. Dun- 
ham into the ranks following the banner of the 
French horse. Unpretentious and inauspicious 
though that beginning may have been it marked 
the opening of the era during which the breed was 
destined to assume the dominance of the American 
draft horse breeding industry, with M. W. Dun- 
ham as its leading exponent. 

A Lull in 1869. — In the season following the boom 
of 1868 importations were greatly reduced, general 
commercial dullness and financial stringency being 
given as the causes. In 1869, too, we note the giving 




PERCHERON STAIaLIONS TRIBUNE AND SAXiVATOR— IMPORTED BY W. T. 

WALTERS. 




PEKCHERON MARE ICATE— IJIPORTED IN 1SS6 BY W. T. WALTERS. 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 147 

way of the Ohio contingent as the leader in the im- 
porting business, and the promise of the rise of 
Illinois to the proud position of prominence it was 
soon to assume and which it has held ever since. 

Not one of the previously prominent Ohio firms 
is named as having brought horses across the ocean 
in 1869, the only importer of record in that state 
for that season being F. D, Dunham of Cincinnati, 
whose lot consisted of two stallions which do not 
seem to have made any impression on the equine 
affairs of the state. Hume & Short of Brighton 
and A. Gr. Van Hoorebeke of Monmouth are the Illi- 
nois operators listed in the records. With three 
residents of Pennsylvania they comprise the roster 
of those actively engaged. The Pennsylvanians 
were E. "W. Shippen, Meadville, who brought out 
three stallions, Edward Schreiber, Allentown, who 
brought five stallions and one mare, and John S. 
Parker, West Chester, who brought two stallions. 
The total importations for the entire year amount- 
ed to fifteen stallions and one mare. No mark worthy 
of prominent mention seems to have been left by 
any of these animals. Only one foal is recorded as 
having been produced by the mare imported that 
season, Eugenia 803. It was a colt, color not given, 
sired by Prince Imperial 748 (imported the same 
year) and foaled in 1876. 

It was in this year of 1869 that the state of Iowa 
received its first imported stallion. In the fall of 
1868 Peter Bland, one of the earliest converts to the 
draft horse faith and a resident of the Darby Plains 



148 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

country of Ohio, bought from Fullington, Phellis 
& Co. the five-year-old gray Duke of Normandy 168, 
locally known as John Sheridan. One year later 
Mr. Bland sold this stallion, which was of the dili- 
gence type and weighed not more than 1,600 pounds 
at full maturity, to A. W. Cook, Charles City, la., 
who kept him until 1874 and then sold him to Jacob 
Erb & Co. of Ames. Pride of Perche 382, imported 
by the Watkins federation of Ohio, reached the 
Iowa Agricultural College this same year. John 
Sheridan was not long destined for his work in Story 
county, his death following in August of the same 
season in which he Avas taken there. 

Across the Continent. — The year 1870 saw the 
hub of the country's draft horse importing and 
breeding industry pass westward to Illinois, where 
it has ever since remained. Kansas received its first 
direct importation from France in the gray stallion 
Napoleon 736, imported by M. J. Parrott, Leaven- 
worth, but fated not long to be retained in the Sun- 
flower state. In 1872 Napoleon was sold to W. C. 
Meyer, the pioneer breeder of the Pacific slope, who 
in that year took his second lot over the Eocky 
Mountains. Mr. Mej^er's first purchase, made in 
this 3^ear of 1870, included the stallion White Prince 
496, Doll 541 (by the Baker Horse 21 out of old Doll 
540, imported in 1857) and some grade mares with 
three crosses of imported blood in their veins. From 
these grade mares he was able in 1878 under the 
new top-cross rule to register the fillies Jane 812 and 
Josie 815, the former by Pride of Perche 380 and 




FEIRCHEIION JIABES JAQUEUKE, TO'PST, BELIE AND ALENE— liEPOETED IN 
1S6S BY W. T. WALTERS. 




PERCfHEEOX ST,\LLIONS SULTAN AND VICTOR—IJIPORTED AND O^VINED 
BY W. T. WALTERS. 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 149 

the latter by Gen. Fleury 846, their pedigrees other- 
wise being the same — dam Jennie by Prince Imperial 
388 (Old Charley), grandam by Normandy 351 
(Pleasant Valley Bill), third dam by Nonesuch 345 
(Old Bob), fourth dam by Louis Napoleon 281. 

White Prince 496 was the first imported horse ever 
taken west of the Eocky Mountains, and it will be 
observed that even as early as 1878 we had Ameri- 
can-bred horses of high breeding graded up from 
the native stock. White Prince was a fine individual 
and an extraordinarily successful sire, never a big 
one, weighing around 1,600 poundsi, and remembered 
as a typical specimen of the true diligence breed in 
its highest estate. His get followed his own pattern 
closely as to both type and color. Indeed he was 
regarded as exactly the horse that should have been 
chosen to make a start in a region where the im- 
provement of the native stock had not previously 
been attempted. Unfortunately he was poisoned in 
1878, foul play in that manner removing perhaps 
the most impressive getter ever used on the common 
run of mares in the early days in that country. 

Good Buying for Illinois. — FuUington, Thompson 
& Co., Irwin Station, and the Marion company still 
held the fort in Ohio, each firm importing three 
stallions in 1870. All the other importers of that 
year, with the exception of Mr. Parrott, already 
mentioned as hailing from Kansas, were residents 
of Illinois. They were: Hume & Short, Brighton; 
Russ, McCourtey & Slattery, Onarga; Westfall, 
Moore & Rexroat, Macomb; A. G. Van Hoorebeke, 



150 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Monmouth; Jas. A. Perry, "Wilmington, and last but 
not least, E. Dillon & Co., Normal, which had been 
identified with the business since the purchase of 
Louis Napoleon in 1858. Illinois' delegation consist- 
ed of 17 out of the 24 stallions imported that season. 
Josephine 814, brought across by Mr. Parrott, is the 
only mare listed for 1870. She was disposed of the 
following spring to Mr. Meyer, but died before she 
could be shipped. 

Duke de Chartres Brings $4,000. — Among the stal- 
lions imported in 1870 were several celebrities. In 
the quartette brought by James A. Perry, Wilming- 
ton, m., was Duke de Chartres 150, a four-year-old 
gray conceded to have been the handsomest imported 
stallion of his day, and extraordinarily successful in 
the showring at the Illinois State and other fairs. 
He earned the further distinction of being the first 
imported horse to be taken to California, William 
Hill & Co., Petaluma, being the buyers at a price 
reported to have been $4,000, or the highest paid up 
to that date. Diligent inquiry has failed to develop 
information touching Duke de Chartres' career after 
reaching the Golden State. Vidal 784, another stal- 
lion in the same importation, was later sold by Mr. 
Perry to the Degens of Ottawa, his acquisition mark- 
ing the entrance of that Illinois family into the 
business in which they were prominent for some 
years. 

Pride of Perche 382, a four-year-old gray imported 
by the Marion company in Ohio, was probably the 
second imported stallion taken into Iowa, having 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 151 

been purchased by A. G. Howland, Otisville, the 
same year he was imported. He made several 
seasons at the Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, but 
like John Sheridan died in 1877. Most of the stal- 
lions imported by Euss, McCourtey & Slattery, 
Onarga, and Westfall, Moore & Eexroat, Macomb, 
seem to have done yeoman service in the improve- 
ment of the native Illinois stocks, proving in the 
main long-lived, prolific, and impressive. One of 
the stallions imported by Westfall, Moore & Eex- 
roat was sold to A. V. Brookings, Macomb, 111., 
marking the beginning of a connection that persisted 
prominently in that portion of the state for a great 
many years. 

First of the Blood in Wisconsin. — Whether to 
Simon Eublee or to H. B. Sherman, both now mem- 
bers of the great silent majority, belongs the credit 
of having taken the first imported stallion into Wis- 
consin the records are not altogether clear. It is the 
tradition that Mr. Sherman bought a stallion in Ohio 
of 1870 importation, but finding him wanting in some 
essential particular later obtained another in ex- 
change for him — Pride of Perche 380. But it is cer- 
tain that Mr. Eublee bought Mahomet 291, imported 
in 1870, from the Dillons. He was one of their first 
lot of four head. In just which year the first im- 
ported horse was taken into the Badger state the 
records do not make clear, but the honor of blazing 
ilie trail in that commonwealth belongs to one or 
the other of these two men. 

Dillons' Big St. Laurent. — With the importation 



152 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of four head, which marked the beginning of the 
Dillons' importing career, there came certainly the 
weightiest stallion that up to that time had entered 
this country, and quite likely as big as any that has 
followed him. This was St. Laurent 435, a gray 
foaled in 1866, and said to have weighed near 2,400 
pounds. He was loosely put together, and a some- 
what uncertain getter, but there is no question as to 
his mastodonic dimensions. 

Recapitulation. — Beginning with the Harris im- 
portation of 1839 and closing the first era of the im- 
porting business with the end of 1870, we find a 
total of 90 stallions and 21 mares definitely recorded 
as having been brought to these shores from France. 
It is generally believed that a few animals besides 
those mentioned here were actually imported within 
the period described, but the data concerning them 
and the points of their origin were too indefinite for 
the compiler of the stud book some forty and more 
years ago to recognize their claims. At the best 
they could be but few in number. Some of the early 
imported stallions of the diligence type bred re- 
markably true to form, and there is little room to 
doubt that on removal far from the point of produc- 
tion some of their sons with age, whitening coat, 
and growing success in the stud gradually assumed 
the dignity, by local reputation, of ''imported 
stock." If a few genuinely imported stallions were 
overlooked it is no more than must have been ex- 
pected in the circumstances, but without doubt a 
place was found for every animal whose history 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 153 

could be traced witliout break or flaw. Naturally, 
too, there was considerable duplication of names, but 
that also was unavoidable. It is possible when the 
affairs of a stud book organization are in running 
order to prevent two animals being registered by 
the same name, but that is impossible in gathering 
together materials for a retrospective volume. 
Names under which stallions have been known for 
many years can not be changed for the purposes of 
making a more intelligible record. In reading the 
history of the earliest importations it is necessary, 
then, to sense properly the number following the 
name when tracing the career of any given individ- 
ual. Of Napoleons, Dukes of Normandy, Prides of 
Perche, and Princes of various realms there were 
many and unless the stud book number is carefully 
noted in connection with the name confusion must 
ensue. 

Of the 90 stallions imported between 1839 and 
1870, Ohio had 42, Illinois 24, Pennsylvania 10, 
Maryland 5, Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri and 
New Jersey 2 each, and Kansas 1. Owing to the 
activity of Gen. W. T. Walters, Maryland easily 
leads among the mares with a total of 10 out of 21, 
followed by Massachusetts with 3, Virginia and 
New Jersey with 2 each, and Pennsylvania, Kansas, 
Missouri and Ohio with 1 each. 

Starting once more with the landing of the Harris 
stallions and mares in New Jersey, we have the 
spread westward in chronological order to Maryland, 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, 



154 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Kansas, Iowa and Oregon. Micliigan received its 
first blood also in 1870, when Hon. Z. T. Chandler, 
Lansing, bought Mark Anthony 296 from Gen. W. T. 
Walters, Baltimore. Oddly enough, although every 
stallion taken into Illinois and further west neces- 
sarily had to pass through Indiana there is no men- 
tion made of the location of any imported stallion 
in that state within the period of 32 years just re- 
viewed. Mahomet 292, a five-year-old gray stallion 
imported in 1868 by the Watkins confederacy in 
Ohio, is recorded as having made several seasons in 
Illinois and Indiana, but that is as close as we can 
come to discovering any early awakening in Indiana 
to a sense of the merits of these imported horses. 

By the close of 1870 draft horse breeding had 
been established in Illinois as a commercial industry 
on a sure and solid basis, though as yet no purebred 
mares had been owned within the state. Up to this 
time a large percentage of the male progeny of the 
imported stallions, especially if gray in color and 
descended from the Samson mares, were kept entire 
and used in the stud, some of these grades being 
high-class individuals and often really not to be dis- 
tinguished from the imported article. Weights as 
high as 1,800 and even 1,900 pounds had been 
achieved in this line of breeding and prices up to 
and beyond the $l,000-line had been paid for the best 
specimens. Four hundred and $500, and even $600, 
$700, and $800 were prices constantly quoted for 
young gray horses possessing the characteristic 
"Frenchy" form, even though only half-bred. Stal- 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 155 

lion fees were liberal, reaching as high as $25, $35, 
and even to $40 and $50 in the top register. No 
line of live stock endeavor was so popular and at 
the fairs big and little the owners of French horses 
vied strenuously with one another in making dis- 
plays of the colts and fillies begotten by their stal- 
lions. Of course these young things were all grades. 

In New Jersey all trace of the early importations 
was gradually swept away, the mark left by Gray 
Billy, stallmate of Pleasant Valley Bill on the jour- 
ney across the ocean, being perhaps the hardest to 
efface, owing no doubt to the superior purity of his 
blood and his prepotence as a sire. Despite the so- 
cial and personal prominence of Gren. W. T. Walters 
and the care and money he lavished on his Per- 
cheron breeding venture, little benefit accrued to the 
state of Maryland. Indeed, save that in some locali- 
ties the weight of the native farm stock was measur- 
ably increased, it is questionable if the equine inter- 
ests of the commonwealth received any lasting bene- 
fit. Much the same is true, on the best authority, 
of the earliest importations into Virginia, and all 
vestiges of the Kentucky importations of 1859 have 
vanished completely. 

In Pennsylvania no doubt the war of 1861-5 swal- 
lowed up most of the grades old enough to go to the 
front, the state at that day being famed as the 
breeding ground where the best big horses in the 
Union were produced. Indubitably the heavy de- 
mands made on the newly improved equine pos- 
sessions of Pennsylvania for military purposes gave 



156 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the work of amelioration so grievous a setback that 
before the machinery of improvement had again been 
set in motion the tide of agricultural advancement 
and settlement was flowing westward in such over- 
mastering volume and strength that the ground lost 
could never be quite regained. Nevertheless Penn- 
sylvania remained for years one of the dominant 
factors in the American heavy horse breeding in- 
dustry. 

To a lesser extent the same is true of Ohio. In 
the Buckeye state perhaps the farmers' yards were 
not raked quite so clean as in Pennsylvania, and 
though the prices offered by the agents of the War 
Department tempted many breeders to sell their 
grade mares for army uses a larger percentage re- 
mained after the close of hostilities with which to 
begin anew the making of the native-bred drafter. 
Old Doll 540, imported in 1857 by the Darby Plains 
Co., proved a tower of strength to the budding pure- 
bred industry, not only in her own career but also 
in the prolificacy of her several daughters. They 
gave the Ohio fanciers a start in the breeding of 
purebred stock and the constant supply of unrelated 
imported stallions from 1851 onward gave them the 
opportunity to put successive crosses upon the native 
foundation until registration under the top-cross rule 
of 1878 had been achieved. We find no evidence 
that this new rule was taken advantage of in that 
day by the breeders in Maryland or Virginia. 

Just how Indiana escaped from being infected with 
the desire to improve its work horses by the use of 



THE IMPORTING RECORD TO 1870 157 

the imported blood will never be explained, but that 
not a single imported stallion had up to 1870 ever 
been taken for service within the boundaries of the 
state is proved beyond a doubt by the records. How 
such a priceless boon came to be overlooked entirely 
in the main line of western travel must remain an 
unsolved mystery. 

Illinois seems to have been shaped by destiny to 
be the center of the American draft horse breeding 
industry. As already stated, the existence of the 
big mares carrying the blood of Samson contributed 
to the early success on the broad prairies of Taze- 
well and adjacent counties, and there is a tradition 
that even as early as 1835 grades of another draft 
breed had been used to better the work stock of that 
region. • Moreover, Illinois with its deep rich soil and 
its wonderful grazing was from the very first an 
ideal horse-breeding ground. 

As early as 1820 or thereabouts the Dillons, Hodg- 
sons, and other well known old Illinois families had 
achieved fame as horse breeders in the localities back 
east from which they originally hailed. About that 
year several of these families sent scouts west with 
instructions to look up a new location, the repre- 
sentatives of the Dillons and the Hodgsons being 
charged specifically to locate lands where horse 
breeding could be made a specialty. They came on 
horseback and the practical judgment of these hardy 
pioneers is well demonstrated by their original 
choices of location along the Illinois Eiver in Taze- 
well and La Salle counties. They brought good 



158 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horses of the Dragon and Conestoga stocks with 
them, and the portion of the state where they settled 
has ever since been within the best breeding ground 
for draft horses in the west. 

It was into Tazewell county that tradition alleges 
the very first stallions of draft blood brought to Illi- 
nois were taken about 1835. It was into that same 
county that Samson was imported in 1843, and it 
was there again that Louis Napoleon made the "hit" 
that paved the way for all that has since transpired 
in this great branch of American animal husbandry. 



CHAPTER VII. 
MID- WEST PIONEERS. 

The production of French horses in America from 
imported ancestry on both sides was so limited prior 
to 1871 as to be of little consequence. As a matter 
of fact only 23 animals since recorded in the Ameri- 
can Stud Book were foaled during the years from 
1871 to 1874. More rapid headAvay was made after 
1875, however, as a considerable number of mares 
had meantime been imported. Summarizing the 
situation, we find that 874 stallions and 152 mares 
were imported between 1871 and 1880, and that 104 
stallions and 115 mares were bred in America during 
that same time. 

Restricted as home-breeding may seem to have 
been, a solid foundation had nevertheless been laid. 
The value of the French horses in improving the 
common stock of the country, already demonstrated 
by Louis Napoleon, French Emperor, Success, Pleas- 
ant Valley Bill, and numerous others, had been more 
than sustained by the importation and use of Apollo 
14, Vidocq 483 (732), St. Laurent 435, Nogent 738 
(729), Dieppe 135, Malbranche 293, and numerous 
other sires of more than average merit. Actual 
breeding had begun in fifteen states. Last but not 
least, a number of firms had passed through the 

]59 



160 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

pioneer stages of importing and breeding and were 
leading the way to rapid improvement in our draft 
horse stock. 

Leaders of the Period. — Mark W. Dunham, E. Dil- 
lon & Co., James A. Perry, Daniel Dunham, A. W. 
Cook, Virgin & Brown, Degen Bros., B. H. Campbell, 
James H. Sanders, R. B. Chisholm, and the Onarga 
Importing Company were leading figures in the trade 
during the period of which we speak. All but Cook 
and Sanders were located in Illinois. They were 
carrying the colors to the front in Iowa, There 
were, however, seventj^-seven other men who are 
credited with importations during this time, and 
some excellent horses were brought over by some of 
the minor operators. In some cases importations 
were made by men who did not go abroad, but who 
bought their horses through accredited agents in 
France. 

The leading breeders of the early '70 's, as shown 
by entries subsequently made in the American Stud 
Book, in order of importance were M. W. Dunham 
and E. Dillon & Co., both of Illinois; S. W. Ficklin 
of Virginia; Thomas Jones & Son and C. M. Jones, 
of Ohio; W. T. Walters of Maryland; W. H. Winter 
and Daniel Dunham of Illinois; W. C. Myer of Ore- 
gon; George W. Stubblefield & Co., and Ed. Hodgson 
of Illinois. Thirty-two other breeders produced 
from one to four animals each during the years men- 
tioned, and their product was distributed over the 
states named and ten others. 

Oaklawn in Front. — Mark W. Dunham was not 




W, S .P-unham 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 161 

only the principal importer, but easily the leading 
breeder of his time, both in point of numbers and in 
the excellence of animals produced. Between 1872 
and 1900 385 mares and 353 stallions (a total of 738 
Percherons) were bred at Oaklawn, more than in 
any five other breeding establishments operating dur- 
ing the '70 's, '80 's and '90 's. Aside from this, the 
character of the animals produced was such that 
Oaklawn took the premier position at the outset, and 
its leadership was never seriously disputed during 
the lifetime of its founder. 

Born in 1842 of New England parentage Mark W. 
Dunham succeeded in 1865 to the farm which his 
father had purchased from the government in 1833. 
His education was obtained in the local schools and 
on the farm, under the guidance of a father who 
was a good farmer and a raiser of livestock of more 
than average merit. The father died when Mark 
was only 23, and he at once assumed the management 
of the place which then comprised but about 300 
acres, located near Wayne, 111., where the buildings 
now stand. 

Mr. Dunham as a practical farmer had bred good 
livestock from the outset, and as has already been 
briefly mentioned he had entered upon his career as 
a horseman by becoming a member of the Fletcher 
Horse Co., headed by his uncle, M. W. Fletcher. 
This was the company that had bought Success and 
French Emperor in 1868, shortly after their im- 
portation by W. J. Edwards. A few years later 
Mr. Dunham bought Success from the company for 



162 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

$3,300. The excellent character of the colts sired 
by this stallion out of the small, nondescript mares 
then common in northern Illinois, and the decidedly 
greater value of the colts for work or sale (they 
brought twice as much at the same age as any other 
colts sired in the county) together with the fact that 
very few such horses were in service convinced Mr. 
Dunham that an excellent business opening was here 
presented. He lacked means, but had the confidence 
of his bankers, who financed his initial venture — 
an importation of 6 stallions in 1872. He did so 
well on these that he brought over 17 stallions and 
4 mares in 1873, and steadily increased his importa- 
tions in both stallions and mares, until by the end 
of 1880 he had imported a total of 300 stallions and 
75 mares. 

Home Breeding Emphasized. — From the very be- 
ginning Mr. Dunham encouraged the breeding of 
Percherons in America, as is amply attested by the 
fact that he brought over 75 of the 152 mares im- 
ported during the '70 's. The other 77 mares were 
brought over by 17 different importers, the Dillons 
bringing 18 and Daniel Dunham 17. 

Mignonette 584 (1447) was the best of the mares 
imported at this time. She is described as ^'16% 
hands high, weight over 2,000 pounds in fair order, 
dapple-gray. ' ' She was six years old when imported 
in 1876, was champion mare at the Centennial Expo- 
sition at Philadelphia that year, and was a noted 
winner in France prior to importation. She was 
retained in the stud and was considered one of the 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 163 

best brood mares at Oaklawn. She was the dam of 
Nyanza 869, sold to head the stud of Henry Avery, 
Wakefield, Kans., in 1881. Ophelia 590, Minerva 
585, Countess 537, Adelaide 519, and Midocean 583 
were other mares that proved to be good producers 
at Oaklawn. By the end of 1880 20 stallions and 28 
mares had been bred and reared by Mr. Dunham 
as an earnest of his belief in the production of Ameri- 
can-bred Percherons. Success 452, Apollo 14, and 
Vidocq 483 were the sires used, in order named, dur- 
ing this period. 

Some Celebrities Described. — As a matter of inter- 
est a detailed description of these horses is here 
given: 

Success 452, foaled in 1864 and imported in 1868, 
was 16 hands high; weight 1,700 pounds. He was 
vigorous, hardy, an easy keeper, compact and sym- 
metrical, with unusual elegance and attractiveness 
in general appearance and movement. His get were 
described as uniformly large-sized, compactly built, 
clean-limbed, stylish and active, whether from large 
or small mares. 

Apollo 14, foaled in 1868, imported in 1875, was 
16% hands high, weighed 2,000 pounds, and was a 
dark dapple-gray. He was very symmetrical and 
stylish and excellent in quality. Grand champion 
at the Centennial in 1876, he sired but 5 purebred 
colts at Oaklawn before his untimely death early 
in 1878. Such colts as he did sire were very large, 
massive, and excellent in character. 

Vidocq 483 (732), foaled in 1869 and imported in 



164 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

1874 stood 16^/4 hands high, weighed 1,850 pounds, 
and was dapple-gray in color. He was very com- 
pact, symmetrical and stylish, wdth extreme spirit 
and courage. He was second at the Societe Hip- 
pique Percheron Show at Nogent in 1872, being 
beaten by his half-brother, Duke de Chartres 162 
(721). He was sold to Leonard Johnson of Min- 
nesota shortly after importation, but the colts sired 
by him in France proved so good and were such 
consistent winners when imported that Mr. Dunham 
bought him back to head the Oaklawn stud in 1878. 
Here he remained in service till 1885; he was the 
chief stock horse until superseded by Brilliant 1271 
(755). He sired 36 purebred colts, most of which 
were bred by Mr. Dunham and Mr. Johnson. His 
greatest son, Nogent 738 (729), was placed at the 
head of the Dillon stud in 1877. 

Drawing from the Fountain Head. — Mr. Dunham's 
pioneer service as an importer and breeder was 
notable for his insistence upon purchasing only 
horses of true Percheron breeding and character. 
He was not long in locating the source of the best 
draft horses in France. He sought his material in 
the very heart of The Perche. He early determined 
that the Percheron combined the necessary size and 
quality with unusual symmetry, style, action, spirit, 
and courage. His earliest purchases were made from 
such men as M. Cajet, M. Fardouet pere, M. Dupont, 
M. Miard and Ernest Perriot, Sr., all located in The 
Perche, and all leaders in Percheron breeding. His 
deliberate selection of the best stallions and mares 




das. M. Fletcher • ' Leonard olohnson • 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 165 

obtainable in France for use in liis own breeding 
operations at Oaklawn set a high standard for other 
American breeders to follow; last but not least, his 
aggressive advertising through the agricultural 
press and at fairs and expositions, together with 
well-planned circular and catalog distribution, did 
more to bring Percherons to the front in these early- 
days than any other factor. In his advertising Mr. 
Dunham placed emphasis on the greater value of the 
colts begotten by Percheron sires, and repeatedly 
scored by pointing out that the colts sired by his 
Percheron stallions were selling for twice as much 
at the same age as the colts sired by the common 
grade or mixed-bred sires then in general use. The 
utility value of the draft horse was liis theme, 
whether for work or sale, and he drove this point 
home so aggressively that his sales of Percherons 
in 1875 and '76 aggregated almost $200,000 — elo- 
quent testimony, even at so early a date, as to the 
high character of his selections. 

The Dillons. — Ellis Dillon and his nephews, Levi 
and Isaiah Dillon, operating under the name of E. 
Dillon & Co., w^ere first located in Tazewell, and later 
in McLean county in Illinois. The Dillons were the 
first family to locate in Tazewell county, and came 
there from Ohio in 1823. They brought with them 
horses larger than the average descended from 
English draft stock. Subsequently they had the 
services of old Samson, an imported English draft 
stallion, probably a Shire, brought over by Col. Oak- 
ley in 1843. They continued tl;e use of this blood 



166 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and bred mares of more than average size at a time 
when most fanners were frittering away what draft 
stock they had by mating their mares to trotting 
sires. 

As already related, the Dillons obtained Louis 
Napoleon in 1857, and his phenomenal success as a 
sire finally led them to decide on direct importations. 
Four stallions were brought over in 1870, and from 
1872 to 1880 importations were annually made, ex- 
cept in 1878. From 1872 to 1880 they imported 84 
stallions and 18 mares. 

The breeding operations of the Dillon firm were 
restricted because of the limited number of mares 
available, but some very valuable sires were in use 
during this time. St. Laurent 435, their first sire, 
was a horse of tremendous scale; and while he was 
not a great breeding horse some of his get sold at long 
prices at early ages. Nogent 738 (729) was imported 
in 1877 by the Dillons, and was used by them in the 
late '70 's and early '80 's, supplementing St. Laurent 
435 in the stud. He was a horse of exceptional qual- 
ity and merit as a sire, and while he begot only 5 
purebred colts after importation to America, the colts 
sired by him in France, many of which were later 
imported, were so excellent as to stamp Nogent 73S 
(729) as the greatest son of Vidocq 483 (732) and 
one of the ranking sires of the '70 's. 

All told the Dillons bred 28 stallions and 13 mares 
between 1871 and 1880, most of them produced after 
1876. They bred some very high-class animals, espe- 
cially in mares, were aggressive exhibitors in the 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 167 

showring and good advertisers, and by reason of 
their prestige and influence in central Illinois in a 
business and political sense they exerted a strong 
influence on draft horse breeding. They were not 
particular, however, to hold strictly to Percheron 
type and bought many useful horses of other French 
derivation. They emphasized great weight, massive- 
ness, and ruggedness, and placed rather less impor- 
tance upon quality, finish, and action. They led the 
faction which held that all horses coming from 
France should be grouped as one breed, to be called 
"French Draft," and this divergence in views later 
caused a split in the ranks of the men who were 
forwarding Percheron horse-breeding interests in 
America. 

Ohio Breeders of the '70 's. — While the most ag- 
gressive Percheron campaign was being waged in 
Illinois, Ohio 's breeders were not idle. Andrew Gill 
and Thomas Jones & Son, at Plain City, and H. L. 
Wood, at Piqua, bred a total of 17 Percherons during 
this decade. Thomas Jones was the leading breeder. 
His operations were really started in 1864 by the 
purchase of Normandy 351 (Pleasant Valley Bill) 
from Timothy Bigelow. Doll 540 (imported) was 
bought in 1866 and her filly. Rose 604, foaled in 1866, 
was retained, though Doll and her next foal, a filly, 
were sold in 1867 to Gill & Woods for $1,000. From 
Rose 604 came three recorded fillies, foaled in 1869, 
'70, and '71, all sired by Normandy 351. These four 
mares were subsequently bred to Ajax 5, a very good 
big horse, imported in 1871 by the Delaware Import- 



168 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

ing Co., and bought in 1874 by Jones.* By 1880 the 
firm had bred and reared 5 stallions and 8 mares, of 
more than average merit. 

Ajax 5 was about 17 hands high and weighed 
approximately a ton when in good flesh. He made a 
tremendous improvement in the size of the Perche- 
rons in Ohio, and was a very prepotent sire, both as 
to size and color. In the 18 years during which 
he was used at Pleasant Valley Stock Farm he never 
sired a colt that was not gray in color. Belle 522 
was the best brood mare of those owned by the 
Jones firm at this time. She produced altogether 5 
stallions and 3 mares, most of them foaled before 
1880, and her descendants are to be found in all parts 
of Ohio. 

The other Ohio breeders operating during this dec- 
ade produced but two animals each, but they had 
laid the foundation for more extensive work and 
had, through the use of Percheron sires, made 
notable improvement on the common horses of their 
districts. 

The East and the Far West. — The men who stood 
third and fourth in number of Percherons bred dur- 
ing this period were S. W. Ficklin of Virginia with 
13, and W. C. Myer of Oregon with 12. Both were 
pioneers in their respective states, and must be given 



*C. M. Jones, the son, then associated with his father, states 
that the farmers in his part of Ohio had the value of draft horses 
driven home to them most forcibly during the Civil War, -when the 
descendants of Louis Napoleon, Pleasant Valley Bill, and the Baker 
Horse brought twice as much as common horses and were eagerly 
sought for by army buyers. The lesson struck home and the farm- 
ers gave liberal patronage to draft sires thereafter. 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 169 

great credit for campaigns waged against odds. 
Farming on a large scale, which quickly forced the 
greater utility value of the draft horse upon the at- 
tention of cornbelt farmers, was not general where 
these men lived, and the farmers and horsemen were 
less numerous and less able to buy. 

Mr. Ficklin's start was really made in 1866, by 
the importation of 2 stallions and 2 mares. One of 
these mares produced a. filly in 1867, and from these 
3 mares he produced 13 colts during the period under 
consideration. The stallions produced were lost to 
sight in the common stock of Virginia, but the fe- 
male line persisted and is today represented by more 
than 60 descendants, in the studs of T. L. White, 
F. B. Albert, D. T. Martin, C. H. King, D. M Cloyd, 
and others, all of Virginia. More than 40 of these 
trace through Constance 8th 8215, foaled in 1879. 
Mr. Ficklin 's Percheron breeding ceased in 1888. 

On the Pacific Coast. — In December, 1870, William 
C. Myer of Ashland, Ore., bought White Prince 496. 
His place was located in a valley tributary to the 
Rogue River. Here, within sight of mountain peaks 
and with Indian pony mares as the chief mates in 
his harem, that imported horse started the work of 
improvement. The colts were uniformly good in 
color, compact, well-proportioned, with style, sym- 
metry, and size. The progeny, even from pony mares 
not exceeding 800 pounds, weighed 1,200 pounds and 
over. Such results were exactly what the western 
ranchmen wanted, and as a consequence Mr. Myer 
established a stud by bringing out 2 more stallions 



170 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and 4 producing mares, 2 of which came from Ohio, 
one from Pennsylvania, and one, of Ohio breeding, 
from Wisconsin. The stallions were Pride of Perche 
380, imported in 1874, and Gen. Flenry, imported in 
1875. Both were brought over by Fullington & Co. 
of Ohio. Marked impetus was given to the growing 
popularity of the Percheron by these shipments of 
Mr. Myer, and he is justly credited with the most 
important pioneer work on the Pacific Coast. 

Dr. W. H. Winter.— W. II. Winter of Princeton, 
Daniel Dunham of Wayne, G. W. Stubblefield & Co. 
of Bloomington, and Eli Hodgson of Ottawa, all of 
Illinois, were other leaders, with 11, 10, 8, and 5 
American-bred Percherons to their respective credits 
by the close of 1880. 

Dr. Winter was of English descent and came from 
Pennsylvania to Princeton in 1850. He was engaged 
in the drug business, but was by inheritance a farmer 
and soon established Edgewood Farm. Here he 
bred Shorthorn cattle and draft horses. In 1874 he 
made his start in Percherons by purchasing Mal- 
branche 293, imported in 1873 by the Princeton 
Horse Co., and in 1874 he had the mares Jeanne 560 
and Joan 562 imported through IST. C. Buswell. The 
mares both proved to be good breeders and by the 
close of 1880 he had 3 stallions and 8 mares descend- 
ed from this modest foundation. 

Malbranche 293 is described as a large gray, about 
17.1 hands high, weighing over a ton. He was a 
deep-bodied, wide-chested horse with two good ends 
and a good middle. He was considered the best sire 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 171 

ever used at Edgewood Farm, although many of his 
colts were bays and sorrels — colors that were none 
too popular. Bernadotte 36, a bay bred by Dr. Win- 
ter, sired by Malbranche 293 out of Jeanne 560, was 
also used, supplementing his sire. 

Dr. Winter was a man of high character and con- 
sidered a very good judge of horses. He exerted a 
wholesome influence on horse breeding in his dis- 
trict, but this was largely local at the time. Dr. Ezra 
Stetson of Neponset, 111., was one of his contempo- 
raries who bred a few horses during this early 
period; his operations will be dealt with later. 

Daniel Dunham. — Mark Dunham's elder brother 
Daniel's operations during the decade under review 
require but passing comment. He bred 10 alto- 
gether, from mares purchased at Oaklawn, using the 
sires which were at the head of his brother's stud. 
In 1880 he imported 3 stallions and 17 mares, selected 
with particular view to his own Percheron breeding 
operations, so that his foundation was properly laid 
at the close of the time we are considering. 

Eli Hodgson. — Mr. Hodgson had used Louis Na- 
poleon during the early '60 's. He owned some 
good grade draft horses, and in 1874 made an im- 
portation of 3 stallions and 1 mare. Of the stal- 
lions Bob Havre 57 proved most valuable. He sired 
but few purebred colts, for purebred mares were 
scarce in his time, but his get out of common grade 
mares were so good that he earned over $10,000 for 
his owner in 10 seasons and was then sold at the age 
of 13 for $2,500 to W. P. Corbin, Pontiac, 111. The 



172 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

mare, Pride of Paris 593, proved to be a regular 
producer, but she and her descendants were coarse 
and so lacking in both quality and symmetry that 
Mr. Hodgson discarded all of them after a few years. 

Hodgson's operations between 1870 and 1880 
served to develop great interest in draft horse breed- 
ing in La Salle county, and as a direct result a 
number of purebred studs were established there in 
the next decade, of which we shall have more to 
say anon. 

Stubblefield Importations. — George W. Stubble- 
field & Co., Bloomington, 111., made importations in 
1874, '75, and '80, and bred altogether 8 Percherons 
by the close of this period. Henry Abrahams 224, 
imported in 1874, was the only sire of consequence 
used by Mr. Stubblefield during this time. He was 
an upstanding horse, a little over 17 hands, weighing 
around 1,800 pounds. He was a light gray, with 
fine head and neck, short back, and heavily muscled 
quarters. He had extra quality, good style and 
action. As a sire on the common mares of McLean 
county he proved extremely popular and did much 
to increase the demand for Percheron sires in that 
section. 

Percheron Breeding in Other States. — A detailed 
discussion of the work of the 32 other breeders who 
contributed to Percheron breeding during this pio- 
neer period is hardly necessary, for in most in- 
stances they were merely laying the foundations for 
later work, and while so doing aroused interest in 
draft horse breeding and convinced the average 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 173 

fanners who came in contact with the get of Per- 
cheron stallions out of common mares of the tremen- 
dous value to accrue through the use of such sires. 
The missionary work done by these early breeders 
was such that their names are worthy of mention on 
the pioneers' roll of honor, together with the number 
of their productions. 

They were: E. W. & T. T. Stubblefield, Bloom- 
ington, 111., 2; Henry Avery, Wakefield, Kans., 2; 
C. Billborrow, Paw Paw, Mich., 1 ; James Dunn, Wa- 
seca, Minn., 3; Andrew Gill, Plain City, 0., 2; Ezra 
Stetson, Neponset, 111., 4; H. V. P. Block, Aberdeen, 
Mo., 3; C. Cameron, Brickersville, Pa., 4; J. J. Park- 
er, West Chester, Pa., 1; J. W. H. Reynolds, Frank- 
fort, Ky., 1; H. A. Babcock, Neenah, Wis., 1; A. W. 
Cook, Charles City, la., 4; Jeff C. Clark, Normandy, 
Mo., 2; Ed. Hodgson, Ottawa, 111., 5; Rogy & Trim- 
ble, Walnut, 111., 2; H. M. Aldrich, Orland, Ind., 1; 
C. W. Pierce, Boston, Mass., 1; W. W. & Al. Power, 
Pulaski, la., 1 ; Reuben Wright, Normal, 111., 1 ; Bangs 
& Billborrow, Paw Paw, Mich., 1; Bangs & Co., Paw 
Paw, Mich., 1; Dickinson Bros., Ridgeway, Pa., 2; 
E. 0. Hills, Bloomingdale, 111., 1; T. Skillman, Peta- 
luma, Cal., 1; Charles K. Harrison, Annandale, Md., 
1; L. M. Hartley, Salem, la., 1; Avery & Murphy, De- 
troit, Mich., 1; F. J. Schreiber, Moorhead, Minn., 3; 
W. H. Hubbard, Evanston, 111., 1; K. L. Wood, Piqua, 
0., 2; S. Murphy, Detroit, Mich., 1; Poindexter & 
Orr, Dillon, Mont., 1. 

The popularity of Percherons was materially ha- 
stened by the importations made by horsemen who 



174 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

brought over only stallions, and whose work was 
purely that of dealers. While these men cannot be 
considered to have contributed so directly to the up- 
building of Percheron breeding as those who proved 
their faith in horse breeding by investing capital in 
breeding mares to be retained in their own studs, 
their work was nevertheless extremely valuable in 
that it placed numerous Percheron sires of merit in 
communities where draft horse improvement was be- 
ing earnestly sought. 

The uniformly good results obtained by crossing 
such Percheron sires on the common stock of that 
time created a strong demand for Percherons, made 
possible the tremendous expansion of the following 
period, and poured hundreds of thousands of dollars 
into the pockets of American farmers through in- 
creased values of colts produced. Among the men 
of this class who were especially active prior to 1880 
were James L. Perry of Wilmington, 111., A. W. Cook 
of Charles City, la.. Virgin & Brown of Fairbury, 
111., Degen Bros, of Ottawa, 111., R. B. Chisholm of 
Elgin, 111., the Onarga Importing Co. and Russ, Mc- 
Courtey & Slattery, both of Onarga, 111., Fullington, 
Phellis & Co. of Irwin Station, 0., the Delaware Im- 
porting Co. of Delaware, 0., N. C. Buswell of Prince- 
ton, 111., Dan McCarthy of Ames, la., the Marion 
County Importing Co. of Ohio, M. D. Covell, first of 
Ohio and later of Kansas, and numerous others scat- 
tered over more than fifteen states. These are men- 
tioned in the order of their importance as to number 
imported. 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 175 

James H. Sanders. — Contemporaneous with the 
entrance of these men into the field of Percheron im- 
porting and breeding, the late James Harvey San- 
ders, founder of live stock journalism and compiler 
of the first Percheron Stud Book ever projected, com- 
menced as early as 1868 in the state of Iowa activities 
destined to have a far-reaching influence in the mid- 
dle west. 

Beared upon a farm in central Ohio, Mr. Sanders 
had accompanied some of the pioneers across the 
western prairies prior to the outbreak of the Civil 
War. Locating in Keokuk Co., la., he embraced the 
first opportunity to indulge an inborn fondness for 
good horses. He had personal knowledge of the 
superiority of the descendants of the French stallions 
imported into his native state over the ordinary 
farm stock of the western country, and in 1868 he 
went back to his old Ohio home and bought a four- 
year-old gray known as Victor Hugo, sired by imp. 
Count Eobert, commonly known as the Baker Horse, 
imported by the Darby Plains Co. in 1857, and — as 
he tells us in an old hand bill printed after this colt 
was taken to Iowa — ''universally admitted to be the 
best trotter ever imported from France into that 
region, now 18 years old, sound and hearty, and 
making a fortune for his owners." The dam of Vic- 
tor Hugo was by ' ' Old Bill, ' ' imported by Dr. Brown 
of Circleville in 1851 — the "Valley Horse" of such 
celebrity as has already been mentioned, "now 21 
years old and so highly valued that his owner re- 
fuses to put a price upon him." Victor Hugo's 



176 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

grandam was a mare by old Louis Napoleon, then 
still living at the age of 23 years, the property of the 
Dillons, the sum of $1,000 having been offered for 
him only 12 months previous by Mr. Fullington of 
Ohio. 

Thus it will be seen that this stallion was a seven- 
eighths-blood horse, and individually he was in 
every way worthy of the three splendid sires whose 
blood coursed in his veins. He stood about 16^/4 
hands, weighed about 1,550 pounds, and was put in 
service at Sigourney in the spring of 1869 at a fee of 
$20 to insure a mare with foal. He was fairly well 
patronized from the start even at that figure, and 
Mr. Sanders encouraged farmers to breed to the 
horse by offering to buy the choice of the foals to be 
dropped at $125 at weaning time, and the second 
best foal at $100. After several years of good work 
in the stud Victor Hugo died from a ruptured blood 
vessel.* He was one of the first stallions of his type 
taken into the state of Iowa, and his success paved 
the way for the profitable introduction of the valu- 
able imported horses Dieppe, Diligence, and Temp- 
est, subsequently purchased by Mr. Sanders. Dieppe 
and Diligence were imported by E. Dillon & Co. 
Dieppe proved one of the greatest sires of his day 
in the central west. Mr. Sanders paid the sum of 
$3,000 for Dieppe, and it proved a fine investment. 



•Victor Hugo was the first draft stallion the compiler of this 
volume ever saw, and our recollection of this fine big horse is 
entirely clear. He had the traditional activity of the Percheron 
race, easily doing five miles an hour at the walk. He was worked 
in heavy harness every winter, and was the pride and admiration 
of the entire community in which he was owned. 




JAMES HARVET SANDERS, FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN PEBCHERON 
STUD BOOK. 



MID- WEST PIONEERS 177 

This horse lived to a ripe old age, and did more for 
the improvement of the farm horses of Keokuk and 
adjoining counties than any other stallion of his time. 
A Campaign of Education. — Mr. Sanders was not 
only one of the pioneer introducers of Percheron 
blood west of the Mississippi River, but he set in 
motion educational influences that greatly facilitated 
the subsequent successes of the Percheron through- 
out the United States. He was first of all a student. 
In his library were the works of Charles Darwin, 
Herbert Spencer, Huxley, Francis Galton, and other 
scientists specializing on the laws governing the 
transmission of hereditary qualities. He read every- 
thing he could find in print relating to animal breed- 
ing. He felt the rising of the great tide of live stock 
improvement that swept through the mid- west 
states during the years immediately following the 
close of the Civil War. The state fairs were begin- 
ning to attract good exhibits. Shorthorn cattle, 
*' Norman" and trotting horses, as well as "Magie" 
swine, were seen and talked about. Nobody knew 
much about any of the ''new" breeds, but many 
were interested and were seeking light. There was 
no medium of communication between those who 
awned or were considering the purchase of better 
animals to replace the native types. Little informa- 
tion was available. Why not a newspaper, a peri- 
odical devoted especially to the discussion of animal 
breeding and management, and the news of the busi- 
ness in general? With J. H. Sanders to think was 
to act. 



178 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

In the month of May, 1869, Mr. Sanders began 
the publication of a 16-page monthly, which he per- 
sonally edited and issued at his own expense from 
the then primitive printing plant of the local 
newspaper known as the "News." He was at 
the time engaged in banking and railway con- 
struction, besides trying to wake up the farmers of 
his state to the desirability of better blood. His pur- 
pose in founding the "Western Stock Journal" was 
purely altruistic. But it met with a cordial recep- 
tion, and after a successful career of a few years its 
possibilities were so obvious that a Chicago syndicate 
took it over and made it the basis of the monthly 
magazine known as the "National Live Stock Jour- 
nal," Mr. Sanders assuming by request of the pub- 
lishers the editorship of the horse department to be 
conducted by mail from Iowa, Then came the great 
fire of 1871, the financial panic of 1873, the sweeping 
away of his private fortune, the enforced sale of the 
country place that had been the pride of his heart, 
removal to Chicago, and the assumption of the duties 
of editor-in-chief of the powerful magazine that was 
being builded upon his little Iowa venture as a 
foundation. 

And so it came to pass that when the western 
draft horse breeding interest began about 1875 to 
feel the first great impulses of the boom that was 
now impending the necessary cooperation for a suc- 
cessful campaign of publicity and promotion in be- 
half of Percheron interests was assured. Mr. San- 
ders had the personal knowledge, the ability, and 



MlD-WEST PIONEERS 179 

the medium of communication with the public that 
combined to render his services invaluable at this 
juncture; the more so because he had the confidence 
of the western people, and had already proved his 
breadth of view by adding to his own stud in Iowa, 
by purchase from Hon. George Murray of Racine, 
Wis., at a cost of $5,000 the celebrated imported 
Clydesdale stallion Donald Dinnie. His sympathy 
with and advocacy of all the improved breeds prom- 
ising to be useful to the American people was a mat- 
ter of common knowledge.* 

Foundation of the Stud Book. — With the great 
expansion of the importing business following the 
entrance into it of the Dillon confederacy and M. W. 
Dunham the necessity for the establishment of a stud 
book was sensed by those most in interest. Up to 
that time ''The General Stud Book" of England, 
wherein the pedigrees of, and other data concerning, 
the Thoroughbred horse were preserved, had been 
the sole register of the kind in existence. Neither in 
France nor in Britain had a similar record been 



*In further illustration of Mr. Sanders' desire to work disin- 
terestedly for the improvement of our American draft horse stock 
as a whole, may be cited the following announcement appearing- in 
the editorial columns of the "National Live Stock Journal" for 
December, 1876: 

"A Clydesdale Reg^ister. — At the urgent request of many of the 
leading breeders and importers of Clydesdale horses in the United 
States and Canada, the editor of The Journal has commenced the 
compilation of a Clydesdale Register, which will be published as 
soon as the work can be completed. It will contain an account 
of the various breeds of cart or draft horses in Great Britain, the 
origin of the Clydesdale breed, and, so far as can be a,scertained, a 
complete list of the imported and prominent native-bred Clydesdale 
horses and mares in the United States and Canada, with their 
pedigrees." 

Only great pressure of work that accumulated shortly after- 
ward prevented the carrying out of this sincere intent. 



180 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

founded for any of the draft breeds, though some 
agitation of the subject had been started in both 
England and Scotland in connection with the Eng- 
lish Cart Horse (as the Shire was then known) and 
the Clydesdale. "The General Stud Book" was be- 
gun as a private venture. There was no organiza- 
tion responsible for its arrangement, rules or publi- 
cation, its chief utility lying in the aid it gave the 
Jockey Club in keeping the British turf free from 
fraud and originally in the stamp of official approval 
it gave to the private records of breeders kept and 
conducted in accordance with its few and simple 
regulations. It was plain, however, that a different 
policy must be pursued with registers in which the 
pedigrees of drafters should be preserved. Private 
ownership was impossible on the face of things. A 
society must be formed by the breeders and import- 
ers for the protection and promotion of their mutual 
interests and the verification and registration of 
pedigrees. 

Therefore late in 1875 this proposal to establish a 
stud book for imported heavy French horses, their 
progeny and descendants took shape in the issuance 
of a call for a meeting of importers and breeders. 
In pursuance of that call, which W. E. Prichard, the 
only surviving member of the gathering, believes 
was sent out by the Dillons, a meeting was held in 
the old Briggs House, Chicago, in December, 1875 — 
the very first of its kind ever convened with the same 
object in view. Present on that most memorable 
occasion were M. W. Dunham, Ellis, Levi and Isaiah 



MID- WEST PIONEERS 181 

Dillon, James A. Perry, W. J. Edwards, James L. 
Owen, W. E. Prichard and J. H. Sanders, all of Illi- 
nois, and Simon Ruble of Wisconsin. Two sessions 
were held without definite result, but a few weeks 
later — in February, 1876 — at a meeting held in the 
Transit House, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, with a 
larger number present, the ' ' National Association of 
Importers and Breeders of Norman Horses" was 
finally launched on the troubled waters of pedigree 
registration and breed promotion. A full report of 
the discussion had upon this occasion has not been 
handed down, but it is a matter of record that the 
following resolution was passed: 

'^ Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting the 
Picardy horse, the Bolougne horse, the Percheron, 
and the Normandy horse are essentially the same 
race or breed, and should be designated as the Nor- 
man horse." 

This resolution was introduced by James A. Perry, 
Wilmington, 111., and was unanimously adopted. A 
constitution and by-laws were also adopted, provid- 
ing that ' ' any person owning an imported or native 
full-blood Norman stallion or mare may become a 
member of this association." As a matter of fact, 
this meeting was not an altogether representative 
one, even for that early day. It was true that the 
term "Norman" had been in very general use in 
this country from the earliest importations. As a 
matter of fact, it had no significance at that time, 
nor at any other time so far as indicating a fixed 
breed of draft horses known as such in France was 
concerned, for the simple reason that no such type as 



182 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a Norman draft horse was ever known in that coun- 
try. Our people knew that most of the original im- 
portations, and many of the later ones as well, had 
been bought within the borders of the ancient prov- 
ince of Normandy, Little or nothing was known at 
that date as to the part which the province of Perche 
had really played in the production of the best horses 
of this stamp on the other side. There were several 
different types of draft horses used and bred in the 
Normandy district, but there was no draft horse 
originated and perpetuated under the name of "Nor- 
man" in that province. 

Naturally the early American importers were first 
attracted by the horses seen in the streets of the 
commercial centres near the coast of northern Nor- 
mandy, such as Rouen, and it was here that they 
began making their first purchases. They did not 
at first penetrate as far inland as The Perche. Just 
what proportion of Percheron blood was carried by 
Louis Napoleon, the Valley Horse, and others of the 
early celebrities can never be known, but from the 
prepotency which the best of these stallions after- 
wards demonstrated when crossed upon the native 
mares of the United States it is safe to assume that 
they were strongly bred horses, and that in all prob- 
ability some of them at least had their origin in the 
Percheron country proper. That is at this late day, 
however, a purely academic consideration. 

It is easy to understand why those who were large- 
ly interested in these horses in 1876 should prefer 
to stand by a name which had become so well estab- 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 183 

lished on this side the Atlantic, even though it were 
known to be a positive misnomer. It was purely a 
title of convenience, and this small conference of im- 
porters and breeders undoubtedly had in mind the 
idea that it mattered little as to what these horses 
were called in this country so long as they were of a 
good sort and were rendering the service for which 
they had been introduced. However, there were 
others who took a different view and who thought 
that it would be unwise, and in the long run unfor- 
tunate, if a purely American invention of this sort 
should be perpetuated. The more the history of the 
type was studied, the more convinced were those who 
had most regard for the facts of history, that the 
word "Norman" should ultimately be abandoned. 
Prominent among those who held this view at this 
time were M. W. Dunham, B. H. Campbell, and Mr. 
Sanders. They knew of course that the term ' ' Nor- 
man" was in general use, and had indeed employed 
it themselves in accordance with the prevailing usage 
in the west. This did not prevent them, however, 
from undertaking to bring about a modification o£ 
the term. 

Long before the meeting in question had been 
called Mr. Sanders had been engaged in gathering 
authentic data concerning the earlier importations 
and their descendants of the pure blood, with a view 
towards laying the foundation for an American 
breeding interest. In the month of June, 1876, in an 
editorial published in the ''National Live Stock 
Journal," he announced that he had undertaken the 



184 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

compilation of a "Norman Stud Book" as a private 
enterprise. While personally not in favor of the 
adoption of this name, he apparently at first deemed 
it best to follow the lead of those who had attended 
the February conference above mentioned. The 
work of preparing the initial volume progressed 
rapidly, and the book was issued from the "National 
Live Stock Journal" press late in that year, but 
fortunately a second edition was soon required and in 
this revision Mr. Sanders, upon his own motion, 
decided to adopt as the title for the volume "The 
Percheron-Norman Stud Book."* He believed he 
was justified in so doing. He had become convinced 
in his own mind, and rightly enough, that the real 
parent stock in France was the Percheron, and upon 
his own initiative he adopted the hyphenated title. 
This was of course a compromise between historical 
fact abroad and American usage at home, and like 
all compromises was not particularly satisfactory to 
anybody concerned. Nevertheless, it stood for some 
years. 

The Peoria Convention of 1878. — At the original 
meeting at Chicago in 1876 there were but three 
states represented, and these by only 14 individuals. 
In the meantime. Volume 1 of the Percheron-Norman 
Stud Book had appeared — the first draft horse pedi- 
gree register ever issued on either side the Atlantic. 
On Feb. 14, 1878, another meeting of the association 



♦Originally Vol. I of the Percheron-Norman Stud Book was bound 
in green covers, and though it had 145 pages as against 212 for the 
revised edition — bound in the familiar brown boards — it was actually 
little more than one-half the size of the latter book. 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 185 

that had been formed at Chicago two years previ- 
ously was called, at which the attendance numbered 
nearly 100. Fifty of these were active members 
representing 8 different states and territories. At 
this meeting, which was presided over by Ellis Dil- 
lon, it was moved" by Dr. Ezra Stetson that the con- 
stitution be amended so as to change the name of the 
organization to ''The National Association of Im- 
porters and Breeders of Percheron Horses." Col. 
B. H. Campbell, who acted as secretary of this his- 
toric conference, moved to amend by substituting the 
words "Percheron-Norman," as used by Mr. Sanders 
in the first volume of the register. This amendment 
was accepted by Dr. Stetson, and after an extended 
discussion participated in by Mr. Dunham, Mr. San- 
ders, Mr. Virgin, Mr. Isaiah Dillon, and others, the 
motion as amended was unanimously adopted. 

A motion to reaffirm the action of the Chicago 
meeting of two years previously, wherein it was de- 
clared that the various types of draft horses to be 
found in France under different names were sub- 
stantially all of the same breed, provoked a spirited 
discussion and was finally tabled. A motion was 
adopted suggesting that for the future entries for the 
stud book showing five crosses of purebred horses 
on a native foundation should be accepted for reg- 
istry. Officers were then elected as follows: Presi- 
dent, Daniel Dunham, Wayne, 111.; treasurer, T. C. 
Sterrett, Warrensburg, 111.; secretary, B. H. Camp- 
bell, Des Moines, la. The following resolutions were 
unanimously adopted: 



186 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

''Resolved, That the history of the Percheron- 
Norman horse, published by Mr. J. H. Sanders, as 
an introduction to his Stud Book, is the most valu- 
able contribution to the literature pertaining to this 
matchless breed of horses which has ever been writ- 
ten in this country or Europe ; and that for the labor 
and ability which he has bestowed upon his work, 
Mr. Sanders has placed the National Association of 
Importers and Owners of Percheron-Norman horses, 
as well as all others interested in the improvement of 
our horses, under great and lasting obligations to 
him. 

' ' Resolved, That while the registry of animals con- 
tains some errors, mostly typographical, the work, 
on the whole, gives evidence of much labor and care; 
and that, both as a history and a record, the Stud 
Book is worthy of the entire confidence of the public. 

"Resolved, That the Stud Book is calculated 
greatly to increase the popularity of the Percheron- 
Norman horse in this country ; and that it is not only 
to the interest, but it is the duty of all importers and 
owners to aid in its circulation. 

"Resolved, That Mr. Sanders has not only labored 
conscientiously in our behalf, but in performing his 
task he has adhered substantially to the spirit of the 
covenant made between him and our Association." 

Naturally this action was very gratifying to Mr. 
Sanders, who as a matter of fact had devoted many 
months of time, and had expended considerable 
money in an earnest effort to put upon its feet a 
public registry that should be entitled to general 
confidence. He announced that. he would proceed 
at once in the preparation of a revised edition of the 
volume that had already been issued, for the pur- 
pose of correcting any errors that had crept into the 



MID-WEST PIONEERS 187 

first edition, and also to add to the record the names 
of horses and mares that had in the meantime be- 
come available for registry. 

At a meeting of the board of directors held in 
Chicago on July 10, 1878, the following additional 
resolutions were adopted: 

"Resolved, That we reaffirm the resolutions passed 
by this Association at Peoria, in February last, en- 
dorsing the' Stud Book prepared and published by 
Mr. Sanders, and respectfully request that he pro- 
ceed with the publication of the revised edition at 
his earliest convenience. 

"Resolved, That we assure the public that Mr. 
Sanders has the hearty co-operation of this asso- 
ciation in his work, and that we denounce, as base 
and malicious slanders, all representations to the 
contrary. ' ' 

Unfortunately, more or less feeling had grown 
out of these extended discussions as to the name 
under which these horses should be known in the 
United States, and at a later date the advocates of 
the idea that all heavy horses imported from France 
should be registered in one book and under one title 
perfected an organization and began the publication 
of a second stud book known as "The National 
French Draft Horse Register." This book had the 
active support of the Messrs. Dillon and others 
among those who had been earnest and successful in 
promoting the interests of the French horses in the 
United States during the preceding years. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
THE FRENCH STOEY RESUMED. 

Before proceeding with an account of the great 
expansion of Perclieron breeding in America which 
characterized the decade beginning with 1880 and 
closing in 1890, let us return to France, and take 
note of the further progress of events in the home 
of the breed. 

We have already shown by copious extracts from 
the national archives of France, preserved in Paris, 
that beginning with about 1815 the government ex- 
tended systematic support to the aspirations of the 
breeders of Percherons through the medium of offi- 
cial inspection of stallions offered for service, and a 
system of subsidies paid out of the national treasury 
to the owners of the approved horses, besides pur- 
chasing and maintaining at the government stud at 
Le Pin stallions regarded as specially valuable for 
service in connection with the work in hand. This 
resulted in the establishment of a type better suited 
to agricultural uses than the ancient trotting and 
diligence stock for which the district had for so long 
been famous. 

Practical Promotive Work. — A royal ordinance of 
Dec. 21, 1833, created in France several new govern- 
ment stallion depots, and reorganized some of those 

188 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 189 

that had been in existence for many years previously, 
such as the Haras du Pin. As has already been 
shown, the Percheron breeding district, of which 
Nogent-le-Rotrou is the capital, had from the earliest 
periods benefited by the government's initiative at 
the stud just mentioned. Every year approved stal- 
lions from Le Pin were located in the old barracks of 
St. Denis at Nogent, where now stand the town col- 
lege and court of justice. 

In the year 1836 a committee of prominent men, 
including most of the best farmers of this district, 
organized a committee for the purpose of holding 
exhibitions or meetings known as comices in various 
localities, for the purpose of awarding prizes to the 
best animals and incidentally of encouraging agri- 
culture and good farming through the continued 
maintenance and improvement of the Percheron 
breed. These comices exist at the present day, and 
are held in addition to the annual central show main- 
tained under the auspices of the Percheron Society 
of France. 

In 1836 we find that the president of the council 
of Nogent was the Count of Bussy, and among the 
members were Messrs. de Maurissure, de Chabot, 
Bailleau, farmer at Brunelles, Noel of La Messes- 
selle, Ducoeurjoly and Le Marie of Nogent. Similar 
councils were also established at Chartres and Chat- 
eaudun. Some idea of the magnitude of the horse- 
breeding operations in the Perche during this per- 
iod may be gleaned from the fact that an old pub- 
lication sets forth that ' ' the district of Eure-et-Loir 



190 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

delivered annually for the trade about 10,000 five- 
year-old stallions, selling at from $200 to $300 each. ' ' 

On March 22, 1841, the Duke of Montmorency, 
speaking at a meeting of the municipal council of 
Chateaudun, said: "For many years stock-breed- 
ing societies of Switzerland and of different parts 
of Germany and of upper Normandy have been com- 
ing into the Perche to buy Percheron stallions and 
mares." This confirms once again the claim that 
the Perche has been for generations recognized as 
the home of a distinct and valuable type. 

In 1844 the general council of Eure-et-Loir voted 
the sum of $900 to be given by the different com- 
mittees to the best brood mares, in addition to the 
sum that previously had been awarded. The many 
privately-owned stallions serving in the district 
were inspected, authorized and pensioned by the gov- 
ernment officials according to their merits in ac- 
cordance with an edict of Oct. 27, 1847. 

More Pre-Stud Book Records. — Eesuming now our 
examination of the official documents in the posses- 
sion of the Government of France, at the point 
where the study was temporarily suspended in a pre- 
ceding chapter (page 101), let us summarize briefly 
certain facts of historical interest relating to the 
pre-stud book period. 

The records, from which we quote, supply the 
names of the leading stallioners of the Perche dur- 
ing the period when the breed was ''modifying 
itself" in the direction of greater weight. Such men 
as Launay of Mauvaisiniere, Langis (Ome), Pelle- 




Qharles 'Rene 



THE FIBST SECBETAKY OF THE PEBCHEBON SOCIETY OF FBANCE (AT 
TOP) AND THE LONG-TEBM HONORABY TBEA'SUBEB. 



il 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 191 

tier, Corbon (Orne), Benoit, Tontay, Cottereau, Guil- 
laumain, Dieu, Monnier, de Vasconcelles Pigeard, 
Marechal, Gaubert and their contemporaries con- 
tributed largely to progress in the direction of a 
draft type. Several of these were located in the 
Nogent district of Eure-et-Loir. Due credit should 
also be given to men among these earlier stallioners 
residing in that part of the Perche lying within the 
Department of Loir-et-Cher, such as the two Tardi- 
neaus, Ferrand and their enterprising colleagues. 
Some of these continued their work in this direction 
throughout a long series of years. However, a new 
school gradually succeeded them, carrying on the 
development of the race along similar lines, so that 
by the time the great American demand for still 
heavier horses set in the Perche was in a position 
through a very simple course of selection in mating 
to gradually evolve the ton horse of modern com- 
merce, and this too without undue sacrifice of that 
vigor, soundness and quality which for generations 
had been characteristic of the lighter types. 

Bailleau of Brunelles, near Nogent, according to 
the government records, appeared about 1836 with 
a draft horse, name not given. This stallion is de- 
scribed as "gris pommele, crins blanches" — a dap- 
pled gray with white mane and four white markings, 
and with ''flesh" or pink spots "between the nos- 
trils." He was a good horse, first approved in 
1836. It is recorded that he served as late as 1845. 

In 1837 we find record of the approved horse 
Grand Pierre, owned by M. Geru of Echaffour, Orne. 



192 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

This stallion was described as light gray, foaled in 
the year above mentioned, and approved by the gov- 
ernment inspection of Nov. 23, 1846. . There is rec- 
ord at the haras of his having served during the 
seasons of 1847 and 1848. He seems to have been 
displaced in 1849. Another stallion of this same 
period, also owned by M. Geru, was called Bijou; 
he was a dappled gray of draft type, foaled in 1839 
and approved in 1846. A third stallion of M. Greru 
was Jupiter, described as "white gray, dappled on 
thighs"; he was foaled in 1840, approved in 1846, 
began to serve under official sanction in 1847, and 
on Feb. 1, 1851 was sold and taken out of the Depart- 
ment of Orne. Government records also tell us of 
a dappled iron-gray stallion Sultan, the property of 
M. Bailleau of Brunelles, that was approved and in 
service from 1847 to 1850. 

In 1844 we find the names of the two Percheron 
stallions Benvenuto and Democrate, both gray, in 
service at Nogent from the government stud at Le 
Pin. In 1847 there is record of 5 stallions serving 
in the Nogent district under a government subsidy, 
including a six-year-old dapple-gray owned by Count 
de Chamoy of Charbonnieres, a five-year-old iron- 
gray and a six-year-old gray, both owned by M. 
Ducoeurjoly, a five-year-old gray owned by M. Chou- 
anard of Champeau, and a five-year-old gray which 
was the property of M. Bailleau of Brunelles. 

In 1849 a commission for the examination of stal- 
lions outside of the agricultural comice of Nogent 
was composed as follows: M. De Tarragon, presi- 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 193 

dent, M. Brissonet of Courville, M. De Poutoi, M. 
Etienne de Tausonville, M, Benoit, and M. Joseph 
Chouanard of La Touclie. The statement was made 
by a contemporary writer that at this date "the 
predominant color of the Percheron breed is gray." 

During this same year the local committee for the 
improvement of the Percheron breed awarded the 
following prizes: First, with 700 francs, to the stal- 
lion Collin, dapple-gray, owned by M. Ducoeurjoly; 
second, with 600 francs, awarded to the light-gray 
Brilliant, belonging to M. Viron, Chateaudun; third, 
with 600 francs, to Vigoureux, a light-gray horse 
belonging to M. Coeuret of Yevres. In 1850 the 
same awarding committee gave prizes to the follow- 
ing stallions: Papillon, a five-year-old gray belong- 
ing to M. Sureau of St. Germain; L'Ami, a three- 
year-old dapple-gray belonging to M. Chevallier of 
Dangeau; and LaFleur, a six-year-old gray belong- 
ing to M. Coueret of Yevres. 

M. Cheradame. — During an extended period begin- 
ning with 1845 there was no greater stallioner and 
breeder in the Perche than M. Cheradame of Ecouche 
(Ome). For more than 40 years he labored unceas- 
ingly and successfully to promote Percheron pres- 
tige and progress. According to M. Desire Ducoeur- 
joly, to whom we are indebted for valuable informa- 
tion touching old-time breeding operations in the 
Perche, M. Cheradame bred chiefly the light-type 
Percherons — great trotters in their day. This inter- 
esting statement we have been able to confirm by ex- 
amination of the government records. He also main- 



194 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

tained a few blooded horses and demi-sangs. His 
greatest work, however, was with his favorite Per- 
cherons. Notwithstanding the celebrity of these as 
fast travelers, it is important to note that while some 
of his approved stallions are described as ''trait 
leger" (light draft), many others were distinctly 
designated as of "draft" type. 

It is particularly fortunate that we have been 
able to gather some authenticated facts concerning 
Cheradame 's work. While his name and fame have 
long been the subject of comment among later 
French breeders, there has been until now nothing 
available as to the actual material with which he 
worked, aside from one mere incidental reference by 
M. Du Hays, who in eulogizing Jean-le-Blanc, of 
which more anon, says: "He was a Percheron, a 
real Percheron, like the famous Toulouse of M. 
Cheradame, for example." 

This successful breeder of the olden days first 
appears in the government archives as owner of 
Destampes, a dappled gray, described as "de car- 
osse" — coach horse, probably of the post or dili- 
gence stamp. This stallion was foaled in 1839 and 
was approved for service during the seasons of 
1845, 1846 and 1847. 

Toulouse, "The Magnificent." — As will presently 
appear, the founders of the Percheron Stud Book of 
France, following the lead of M. Du Hays, singled 
out for special mention alone among all the great 
stallions of the district that gave rise to the modern 
Percheron a horse called Jean-le-Blanc, claimed to 




LA EOtTSTlfiEE— RESIDENCE OF MAURICE CHOXJANARD, AND IN POSSES- 
SION OF THE CHOUANABD FAMILY FOR UPWARDS OF TWO CEN- 
TURIES. THE FAMOUS STALLION KNOWN AS OLD COCO WAS BRED 
ON THIS FARM. 




L'AECHE — FARM AND RESIDENCE OF ERNEST PEERIOT, JR., NEAB 
LA FERTf: BERNARD. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 195 

be a direct descendant of the erstwhile ' ' Arab ' ' Gal- 
lipoly. As has just been stated, in placing Jean-le- 
Blanc upon this pedestal Du Hays took cognizance 
of the existence of another "true" Percheron, ''le 
fameux Toulouse de M. Cheradame, par example," 
Except for this laconic reference nothing, so far as 
we have been able to ascertain, has been published 
concerning this horse. No attempt was made to 
register him in the initial volume of the Stud Book 
of France, for the very good reason, we suppose, 
that no facts concerning him, not even legends, as in 
the case of Jean-le-Blanc, were at hand. And yet 
at that very time the truth was lying all untouched 
in the archives of the French Government. The 
facts now to be presented, therefore, will prove of 
absorbing interest to all students of Percheron his- 
tory. 

Toulouse is first mentioned (No. 162 in the Haras 
register at Le Pin) in an entry dated Nov. 30, 1847, 
at which time he was officially approved. This 
entry states that he was foaled in 1839, so that it is 
reasonably certain that he had already seen service 
before being pensioned or subsidized by the govern- 
ment. He is described as "de trait" (draft), color 
"gris blanc" (light gray), with "flesh spots at the 
end of the nose." He began his service as a govern- 
ment-approved stallion in the spring of 1848. He 
served during this season 60 mares, siring 42 liv- 
ing foals and receiving a bonus of 200 francs. In 

1849 he served 58 mares with 36 foals resulting. In 

1850 he had 40 mares that produced 30 foals, and in 

1851 he served 44 mares. 



196 A HISTORY- OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

In the space reserved for ''observations" in this 
original entry no particulars as to the breeding of 
Toulouse are given, but in 1853 we find him men- 
tioned as a son of Sandy, whose breeding is not 
given, out of "an unknown Percheron mare." His 
height is here given as a little over 16 hands. 
Farther along we find that in 1859 — although he 
was then, it will be observed, 20 years old — he was 
still receiving his subsidy. Not only that, but it is 
particularly to be impressed at this point that 
whereas the custom of entering "remarks" con- 
cerning these approved stallions had been for some 
years discontinued we find this extraordinary spe- 
cial tribute to this veteran of two decades: 

"April 2, 1859 — Toulouse est arrive a la decrepi- 
tude. C'etait un magnifique etalon de trait. Bien 
difficile a remplacer. Je demande qu'il ne soit plus 
approve en 1860." 

That is to say: "Toulouse is getting worn out. 
He was a magnificent draft stallion. Very difficult 
to replace him. I recommend that he should not be 
approved for 1860." 

Toulouse, "the magnificent," was now going the 
way of all fl^esh as no longer useful in the stud at 
the ripe old age of twenty years. Although appar- 
ently the greatest horse of his era in the Perche, so 
far as authentic records go, his very existence was 
scarcely a tradition as late as 1883, the date of the 
founding of the stud book! Truly, once again let 
us reiterate, French breeders were at all times more 
concerned in making history than in writing it. 




. DesirG'LucoeurJolt; . JL [ Ansbert Feuillard 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 197 

Immediately underneath the splendid isolated 
testimonial upon the government record is this addi- 
tional entry: "1860 — he has not gone yet; approved 
for 1860." 

In spite of the inspector's reluctant recommenda- 
tion of the year before the great stallion is given 
another year at stud! With this the record ends. 
To have been singled out for this almost extrava- 
gant commendation at a time when ' ' remarks ' ' were 
no longer the rule in the records is of course proof 
positive of the altogether exceptional character of 
this horse. He was 9 years old when first pensioned, 
and was used 13 years as an approved sire. It is 
probable, therefore, that this stallion served in his 
time as many as a thousand mares. Light-gray at 
an early age, old Toulouse in his later years would 
have been white as snow. Let us be glad of this 
opportunity to do tardy justice to a horse that was 
so honored officially in his own day and generation. 
It is to be regretted that we cannot do as much for 
Jean-le-Blanc. Indeed were it not for the apparent 
discrepancy in their ages, one might even suggest 
the possibility that in Toulouse we have the real 
Jean-le-Blanc. But as to this one may only specu- 
late. It is indeed to be regretted that owing to the 
tardy establishment of registration facilities we 
cannot at this date supply the links in the chain 
that would undoubtedly connect up many a present 
day Percheron horse with Toulouse, "the magnifi- 
cent." 

Chocolat. — Another great horse owned by M. 



198 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Cheradame at a later date was called Chocolat. It 
appears from the records that he was "de trait" 
(of the draft type), gray, and stood about 16 
hands iy2 inches high. He was foaled in 1864, was 
approved at 6 years old, and like Toulouse was 
kept in service until his twentieth year, in 1884. 
This long period of approval in the stud is convinc- 
ing evidence of Chocolat 's superior character and 
value as a sire. His pension from 1880 to 1884 in- 
clusive seems to have been 300 francs. 

Another draft stallion owned by M. Cheradame, 
and in use about 1860, was named Carnaval. There 
is also record of a Cheradame horse called Bon Es- 
poir, a gray foaled in 1855, and another named 
Double, the latter described as ''trait leger" (light 
drafter), a gray standing 16 hands that served as 
an approved sire from 1880 to 1884 inclusive. Still 
another under the same ownership was Lilas, also 
a light drafter, gray and 15.3 hands in stature. 
Lilas served from 1880 to 1883 inclusive. 

The Ducoeurjolys. — Contemporaneous with Bail- 
leau and the early work of Cheradame we find 
Ducoeurjoly (Jacques Francois) of Coudreau, dis- 
trict of Nogent, beginning as an owner of approved 
stallions with Collin, a celebrated horse already men- 
tioned. Collin was a little over 16 hands high and 
was described as ''an iron gray (gris de fer pom- 
mele) draft horse with two white feet, bom in 
1842 and approved Nov. 23, 1846." This horse 
served as an approved stallion for 4 years from 
1847 to 1850 inclusive. Another horse, unnamed, 




LA PKLLOIS — ^BEEEDING FARM OF A. TACHEATJ, NEAE LA FERTE BERNARD, 




FARM OF M. JOS. AVELINE, DORCEAU. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 199 

belonging to M. Ducoeurjoly, foaled in 1841 and 
approved Nov. 23, 1846, served 2 years. 

The Ducoeurjolys always have been highly es- 
teemed as good breeders and keen judges of animal 
form. However, they have never gone into the busi- 
ness so extensively as their aptitudes and knowl- 
edge of Percheron breeding would warrant, simply 
because they always have adhered to their vocation 
as ''cultivators" — farmers as well as breeders. 
Speculative dealing in colts has never attracted 
them. They have preferred to breed some of the 
very best, till their land and sell simply their own 
surplus animals. This is one of the few farms in 
the Perche where a good-sized flock of sheep has 
been profitably kept. We find several of the 
Ducoeurjoly horses mentioned as approved stallions 
in the early days and the celebrated old prize-win- 
ning mare Pauline (279) was their property. She 
was foaled in 1869 and won 12 prizes at the leading 
shows at different periods. The present Desire 
Ducoeurjoly has attained high reputation both with 
mares and stallions. 

Pelletier. — ^Another stallioner of importance in the 
ante-stud book days was Theodore Pelletier, prob- 
ably related to the other Pelletier mentioned in our 
earlier chapters. He lived at St. Julien-sur-Sarthe, 
Ome. This locality is a great mare country at the 
present date. 

Credited to Pelletier we find Colin, ''son of Colin 
and out of an unnamed Percheron mare." The sire 
Colin was probably the Collin or Colin of Ducoeur- 



200 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

joly. This horse was described as a ''draft stallion 
of very good model; a good breeder, an impressive 
sire that begets excellent post horses; many of his 
male colts have been exported." He served from 
1859 to 1862 — 4 years. The first 2 years his pen- 
sion was 300 francs, and the 2 latter years it was 
400 francs. Pelletier owned another horse named 
Vulcain about the same period. He also had Nogent, 
a 16.1-hand gray that served during 1863 and 1864. 

After the death of M. Theodore Pelletier we find 
a ''light draft stallion, gray, 16 hands," entered as 
the property of "Widow Pelletier," St. Julien-sur- 
Sarthe. This horse began serving in 1880. 

Moisand. — About this time also we hear of Moi- 
sand, "Director of the Societe Hippique Percher- 
onne," Chateaudun, Eure-et-Loire. From his town 
and district, a great grain-growing region, formerly 
came many Percheron horses, but since the inaugura- 
tion of the French stud book foals bom in the dis- 
trict are not eligible for entry. Judging from the 
pensions awarded to M. Moisand he owned many 
good stallions. Mina, a black-gray, nearly 17 hands 
high, foaled in 1858, served from 1862 to 1868; his 
pension, beginning at 500 francs, was raised to 650 
francs. Moisand also had Coco, 16 hands high, a 
black-gray that served from 1862 to 1864. Another 
stallion of Moisand called Priape, served during the 
same period and was also a dark-gray. Moisand 
also had a horse called Pamphile, dappled gray, 
that served from 1863 to 1869, and another named 
Sandy, foaled 1856, that served during 1866 and 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 201 

1867. Still another of his approved stallions was 
named Porthos. 

Jousset and Mitau. — Beginning about 1870 we 
find that a certain Jousset, commune of Colimer, dis- 
trict of Mortagiie, had several approved horses. 
M. Mitau of Essay, district of Alengon, had 2 ap- 
proved stallions during the same period. Jousset 
had Briliant, described as ''light draft" and 16 
hands high, that served from 1880 to 1883. Mitau 
was still active in the business as late as 1890, at 
which date he owned the approved stallion Volta. 

Old Records Brought to Light. — ^In 1851 we find 
trace of a six-year-old dapple-gray stallion named 
Henri, which was in stud around Mortagne, and 
others as follows: Decembis, 7 years old, in serv- 
ice at Illiers; Bayard, ''red-gray," 4 years old, at 
Mortagne; Chappelain, light-gray, 7 years old, at 
Courtalain; Mi Careme, dapple-gray, 6 years old, 
at Montdoubleau ; Collin, dapple-gray, 8 years old 
at Nogent. At this same time there were also in 
stud at Nogent the following: Bienvenu, dapple- 
gray, 6 years old; Nell, dark-gray, 6 years old; Cour- 
ville, iron-gray, 4 years old; Laigle, dapple-gray, 4 
years old; Collin, dapple-gray, 4 years old; Illiers, 
dapple-gray, 5 years old. 

In 1852 we find the names of two more govern- 
ment stallions in service in the district of Nogent; 
Chartres, dapple-gray, 7 years old, and Voniche, 
dapple-gray, 7 years old. In 1854 the stallions depot 
of Nogent was dependent upon the stallion depot of 
Blois (Loir et Cher) instead of Le Pin (Orne). On- 



202 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the 17th of November, 1854, the council general of 
Eure-et-Loir voted a sum of $2,000 to be given for 
more shows to be held and offered premiums for 
best stallions and mares. The prizes for mares 
ranged from $80 up to $160, and a stallion could 
attain up to $400. The stallion show was to be held 
at Illiers, and the mare shows at lUiers, Courtalain 
and Nogent-le-Rotrou. The stallion show was held 
at Illiers on the 18th of November, 1855, and pre- 
miums were awarded as follows: First to Colin, 
belonging to M. Dorchene of No gent; second to 
Charbonnieres, belonging to Count of Chamoy; third 
to Laigle, belonging to Duke de Montmorency; 
fourth to General, belonging to Madame Chevallier 
of Dangeau. Three other stallions were given prizes : 
Papillon, dapple-gray, 6 years old, belonging to M. 
Pangoue of Cloyes; LaBelle, dapple-gray, 9 years 
old, belonging to M. Loride of Bonneval, and Colin, 
white, 15 years old, belonging to M. Penelle of Cour- 
talain. 

In 1856 the stallion depot of Blois sent to the 
Nogent station of stallions a horse named Bayard. 
In 1857 there was sent from the same depot the stal- 
lions Nelle and Ramon. 

A mare show was held at Courtalain on the 8th 
of June, 1857, in which 2,200 francs were given to 
the best brood mares. The first premium with 800 
francs cash was given to Cocotte, a dapple-gray 7 
years old owned by M. Roger of St. Pellerin. On the 
12th of July, 1857, a big mare show was held at 
Nogent-le-Rotrou. It is interesting to note the names 




LA B0UKD0NNI£;RE, farm of M. THIBATJI.T. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 203 

of the farmers who then kept the best brood mares 
in that district. The premiums were awarded as 
follows: First to Cocotte, belonging to M. Ducoeur- 
joly of Brunelles; second to Pelotte, belonging to 
Nicolas Glon of Souance; third to L'Hermine, be- 
longing to Dnrand of Souance; fourth to Margot, 
belonging to Jean Glon near Nogent; fifth to Vigour- 
eux, belonging to Bailleau of Illiers; sixth to Eos- 
alie, belonging to Guillot, La Gaudaine; seventh to 
Rustique, belonging to Bouillon of Nogent. 

A worthy gentleman, the Count de Chamoy, was 
keeping at this time a big stud at his farm of Char- 
bonnieres near Authon, about 15 miles from Nogent. 
He did great good in his neighborhood ; he kept high- 
class stallions, among the most celebrated being 
Charbonnieres, Eure-et-Loir and Decide. Charbon- 
nieres was foaled at Charbonnieres in 1851 and was 
out of Neel, by Dagobert, dam La Meuniere. 

A stallion show was held at Illiers on the 16th of 
November, 1857. Of 30 stallions shown 5 were given 
premiums and 8 were approved as follows: First 
premium with 1,400 francs to Sandy, belonging to 
M. Lahaye of .Chateaudun; second to Pierrot, be- 
longing to Count de Chamoy ; third to Colin, belong- 
ing to M. Dorchene of Nogent; fourth to Charbon- 
nieres, belonging to Count de Chamoy; fifth to Bibi, 
belonging to M. Lahaye. The stallions approved 
were: Decide, belonging to Count de Chamoy; 
Lamy, belonging to M. Maillard; Ebene, belonging 
to H. de Chabot; Pierrot, belonging to Mme. Sauton; 
General, belonging to Mme. Chevallier; Lamy, be- 



204 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

longing to M. Baret; La Poule, belonging to M. 
Sedillot, and La Bielie, belonging to M. Gatineau 
of Beaufrancois. 

In 1858 the imperial depot of stallions of Le Pin, 
to which the district of Nogent had now been joined, 
again sent to the station of Nogent for the 1858 
stud the stallions Mortagne, Pionnier and Pausanias. 
On the 18th of July, 1858, a big mare show was held 
at Nogent-le-Rotrou, and we find the following 
awards: 

First premium with 600 francs to Robine, belong- 
ing to M. Ducoeurjoly of Condreceau; second pre- 
mium with 500 francs to Georgette, belonging to M. 
Ducoeurjoly of Brunelles; third premium with 500 
francs to Belly, belonging to Count de Chamoy; 
fourth premium with 400 francs to Sophie, belong- 
ing to Guibert de Souance; fifth premium with 400 
francs to La Grise, belonging to Glon de Etilleux; 
sixth premium to Pelotte belonging to Richardeau 
de Souance; seventh premium to Belotte, belonging 
to Lesieur of Souance; eighth premium to Chaton, 
belonging to Dordoigne of Brunelles ; ninth premium 
to Sophie, belonging to Count de Chamoy. 

In the same year we find in the old records the 
names of these celebrated stallions : Collin, belong- 
ing to M. Dorchene; Agricole, belonging to M. 
Enault; Sandy, belonging to M. Pelletier; Vaillant, 
belong to M. Lenfant, and Voltaire, belonging to M. 
Perpere. 

In May, 1858, there was a show at Alen§on (Ome). 
In the awards we find the names of the following 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 205 

stallions: Ebene, 7 years old, property of Count 
de Chamoy; Charbonnieres, 7 years old, property of 
Count de Chamoy; Couronne, 5 years old, property 
of Louis Chouanard of Margon; Lafleur, 3 years old, 
property of Desvaux of Courville ; Colin, 6 years old, 
property of M. Dorcliene of La Gaudaine; Beau- 
francois, 6 years old, property of M. Gratineau, and 
Sandie, 4 years old, property of M. Lahaye of Cha- 
teaudun. 

In the mare class at same show were: Albertine, 
4 years old, Seduisante, 6 years old, Brillante, 6 
years old, and Grisette, 4 years old, all belonging 
to M. Joseph Chouanard of La Touche; Cocotte, 6 
years old, and L'Amie, 7 years old, belonging to M. 
Ducoeurjoly of Brunelles; and Mina, 3 years old, 
owned by M. Gannier of Beaumont les Autels. 

Another big show was held at Alengon in 1865. 
M. Cheradame of Ecouche had an extra 30-month- 
old gray colt named Lacour by Bon Espoir. He 
had also Picador, a splendid gray, and Camaval. 
M, Guillemin of Coudray, near Nogent, won first 
prize in the brood mare class. Second prize was 
awarded to M. Vaux of St. Quentin de Blavon 
(Orne). M. Miteau of Aunay les Bois was third. 
M. Guillemin 's mare also won the colors at the Uni- 
versal Exhibition of Paris (1867). 

In 1865 we find in old records the names of many 
of the breeders living at that time. In the district 
of Mortagne were Messrs. Guimond, Caget, Bignon, 
Provot, Pelletier, Chantepie, Desclos, Vallee, Olivier, 
Dujarrier, Vade, Vaux, Perpere and Fromentin. In 



206 A HISTORY OF THE. PEKCHERON HORSE 

the district of Belleme were Messrs. Jamois, Cka- 
pelle, Segouin and Morin. In the district of Le 
Theil were Messrs. Bajon, Therin and Count de St. 
Pol. In the district of Regmalard were Messrs. Far- 
douet, Debray, Charpentier and Aveline. M. Simon 
had his stud station at ;St. ,Lanibert near Trun 
(Orne), and had owned the celebrated stallions 
Dagobert and Farmer. 

In 1865 also we find the following names of 
breeders in the Nogent district: Messrs. Adolphe 
Chouanard of La Touche, Le Marie, Louis Chou- 
anard of Champeau, Gasselin, Dorchene, Glon, 
Neveu, Ducoeurjoly, Dordoigne, Vade, Guillemin, 
Gaulard, Count de Bezenvah, Gannier. 

To finish with the old records let us mention a 
show which was held at Chartres from the 1st to 
the 9th of May, 1869. In the three-year-old class 
we find the names of the following stallions: In- 
trouvable, belonging to M. Lallouet; Beaufrancois, 
belonging to M. Gatineau; Cheri, belonging to M. 
Fardouet; Mylord, belonging to M. Moisant; Mon- 
arque, belonging to M. Caget; Roland, belonging to 
M. Moisant; Cheri, belonging to M. Caget; Coco, 
belonging to M. Vinault; Chouanard, belonging to 
M. Desclos; Coquet, belonging to M. Maillard; Paul, 
belonging to M. Fardouet; Jean Bart, belonging to 
M. Perpere; Vulcain, belonging to M. Pelletier, and 
Lacour, belonging to M. Cheradame. 

Fardouet and Ca^et. — While these records could 
be multiplied, it scarcely seems necessary to pro- 
long details of this character indefinitely. The point 




LB BOIS JOLY, FARM OF THE LATE M. PARDOXJET, FIRST PRESIDENT OF 
THE PERCHERON SOCIETY OF PRANCE. 




liA. GRAND CHAMPBOND, PAEiM OP L. MOIILIN. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 207 

to be established is that prior to the founding of the 
stud book the same persistent government-super- 
vised work in the interest of preserving Percheron 
integrity, as related in preceding chapters, was con- 
tinuous, even though no published pedigree record 
was maintained. At this point, therefore, we shall 
only record further the fact that two of Chera- 
dame's greatest contemporaries and successors in 
developing Percheron character were MM. Fardouet 
and Caget, both of whom left a legacy of inestimable 
value to France and America as a result of their 
labors. Here again we are able to supply govern- 
ment data until now not appearing in published 
records. 

Michel Fardouet. — M. Fardouet 's farm of La Beu- 
vriere was situated in the commune of Verrieres in 
the department of Ome. His first approved stallion 
was Madere, foaled in 1862. This horse served as a 
pensioned stallion, and had notable place in the Per- 
cheron annals of his time for several reasons. In 
the first place, he was a big horse standing 17 hands. 
In the second place, he was black. And most im- 
portant of all, he served as a subsidized stallion in 
the Perche for a period of 14 years, from 1867 to 
1879 inclusive. Here, therefore, is one prolific 
source of size and of the color that subsequently 
became for a time so popular in America. 

Another good Fardouet stallion of this era was 
the gray Bon Espoir, foaled in 1862. He had gov- 
ernment endorsement, as did also Bayard, a stallion 
that rendered good service during 1873 and 1874. 



208 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

In 1879 M. Fardouet had Vermouth 2d, a big, good 
gray that served during that season 98 mares. M. 
Fardouet 's later breeding operations may be studied 
from the French and American stud books. He be- 
came the first president of the Percheron Society 
of France, and it should be borne in mind, as illus- 
trating the high quality of his stock, that the cele- 
brated stallion Vidocq 483 (732), imported by M. 
W. Dunham in 1874, was for several years at the 
head of the stud at La Beuvriere. As to the type 
of the Fardouet stock it may be said that the horses 
were perhaps not so heavy-boned as those to be 
found elsewhere, but they were usually distinguished 
for their fine finish and good action. 

During his long and honorable career no man had 
more approved or pensioned stallions than Michel 
Fardouet, who was succeeded by his son Alphonse 
of Le Bois' Joly, near Nogent. 

Celestiaji Caget. — Clearly one of the ranking breed- 
ers of his time in the Perche was M. Celestin Caget. 
He had two properties, one at Medavy in the Mor- 
tagne district of Ome and another at St. Scolasse 
in the district of Alencon. 

In 1870 Caget had 3 approved stallions, at least 
one of which, the famous old Selim (749), bred in 
Orne and foaled in 1866, was one of the best horses 
of his day. The official record reads: "Selim, fine 
draft horse, great depth of chest, good in shoulders, 
good loins, fine action." Again in 1872 Selim is 
referred to as ''a good Percheron, well built, near 
the ground." This horse was in service for 8 years 




[ M. Caget ] ^ [ Eugene Le marie ' 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 209 

as a pensioned stock-getter. In 1885 M. Cajet had 
6 approved stallions, including the noted Romulus, 
dappled gray, about 16 hands high, afterwards sold 
to Mr. Dunham; Vautour, light gray, 16 hands high; 
Cheri, dappled gray, 16 hands high; and Madere, 
Voltaire and Picador, all grays. In 1887 Caget had 
4 stallions pensioned — Porthos, Eveille, Cheri and 
Madere. 

Contemporaneously, in part, with the work of 
Caget pere is that of his son, Modeste Caget. The 
records show that pensioned stallions were owned 
by father and son throughout a period of full 30 
years. M. DeLange of Almeneches, Ome, a son-in- 
law of the elder Caget, was also a stallioner of good 
repute. 

The Chouanards and La Touche. — The beautiful 
farm belonging to the late and much-regretted 
Charles Aveline, the farm of LaTouche near Nogent, 
has been for nearly a century the residence of the 
Chouanard family. M. Charles Aveline leased the 
farm in 1894, and bought it some years later. From 
the year 1820 to the year 1894 the Chouanards, at 
least one branch of the family, lived there. The 
family was numerous, and its members hold a prom- 
inent place in Percheron history. In fact, the name 
is still in evidence today, Emile Chouanard, Jules 
Chouanard, Charles Chouanard and Paul Chouanard 
still maintaining the reputation of their ancestors. 
To M. Paul Chouanard we acknowledge our indebt- 
edness for some of the interesting facts herein 
chronicled. 



210 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The Chouanard family originally came from the 
west of France, from Cholet, in the department of 
Maine-et-Loire. The first of the name of which we 
have record were cattle dealers and used to sell at 
the Paris cattle market, then at Poissy. This was 
long before the railways, and they sent their cattle 
by the road on foot to market. Their way was 
through the Perclie, from Cholet to Paris, and dur- 
ing their numerous trips through the district they 
were attracted by the surroundings, and decided to 
settle there. We find trace of a Chouanard (Joseph 
Rene), born in 1767, who died in the Perche in 1815, 
at Bretoncelles, about 12 miles from Nogent, where 
he had a farm. He left many children, and his first 
two sons were the ancestors of the Chouanards of 
today. One of his sons, Louis Chouanard, resided at 
the farm of Champeau near Nogent, and was the 
owner of some celebrated stallions. His brother, 
Joseph Chouanard, was the first Chouanard to live 
at La Touche. He leased the farm in the year 1820, 
and was known as Chouanard de la Touche, as his 
brother Louis was known as Chouanard of Cham- 
peau. 

Joseph Chouanard was a man of strong charac- 
ter and good judgment. He was universally es- 
teemed, and was considered one of the highest au- 
thorities of his day on horse breeding. In fact, he 
was often called to judge at shows or to act as ref- 
eree. He probably was the greatest mare man of 
his time in the Perche. He had a long career, quit- 
ting the farm in 1863 and retiring to Nogent, where 




[ Jllaiirice Chomnard j ^ [Chdrles Choimridrd . 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 211 

he died in 1876. His son, Adolplie Chouanard, suc- 
ceeded him at La Touche in 1863. 

Adolphe Chouanard was a mare man also and 
did an extensive business, especially with the Paris 
trade. When the first American buyers came, 
Adolphe Chouanard adapted his trade to the de- 
mands of the importers and La Touche was sup- 
plied with stock of all ages to suit the demand. 
Adolphe Chouanard did a large business with the 
first American importers. At the first show held 
by the Percheron society at Nogent in May, 1884, he 
won first prize with the famous mare Degourdie 
(2346) and sold her for $2,300 to George E. Case 
of Minnesota. This was a great mare, quite white 
at 5 years old, with a wonderful body, great bone, 
and a very long arched neck. In the years 1886 
and 1887 Adolphe Chouanard had more than 130 
Percherons of all ages on hand, so that La Touche 
was one of the headquarters for the American trade, 
ranking in this respect with the great farms of 
August Tacheau, Sr., and of Colas of Beaulieu, other 
leaders of their time. 

After the panic of the early '90 's Adolphe Chou- 
anard left La Touche, and in 1894 the farm changed 
hands, soon afterwards becoming the property of 
Charles Aveline. 

The Perriots. — The records of Percheron progress 
in modem days in France hold no name wholly com- 
parable with that of Perriot. Although this fact is 
largely due to the extraordinary achievements of 
the brothers Louis, Ernest and Albert, and Louis' 



212 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

son Edmond, their forbears were recognized as 
among the foremost breeders of the Perche. Per- 
riot pere was born in 1810, and died in 1874. 

At the time when the great American demand 
first set in prior to 1880 the three brothers, known 
as Perriot d 'Amilly, Perriot de Cheneliere and Per- 
riot de Champeau, were comparatively young men, 
and while all were recognized as close judges of a 
good horse, Mark W. Dunham was wont to credit 
the younger brother Albert with being the shrewd- 
est of the three. He of ten put it like this : "When- 
ever they went out together picking up colts it 
would inevitably be found when they were divided 
up that Albert had the best ones." Be this as it 
may, they were a most remarkable trio, and in the 
great days that followed sold more high-priced 
horses for export than all of their contemporaries 
combined. Unfortunately Albert died at an early 
age in 1879, his decease being universally regarded 
as a real calamity to the district. It was from Albert 
that Mr. Dunham bought Africus (862), Bayard 
(717), Margot d 'Amilly (795), Duke of Perche 
(740), Favora (725) and Superior (730). 

The elder brother Louis was born in February, 
1835, on his father's farm of Amilly, in the com- 
mune of Condeau, Orne, where he remained until 
as a young man he went to live with his grand- 
mother, the grandfather having died. In 1859, as 
a young married man, he began his long and suc- 
cessful career as a breeder of horses of the best 
Percheron type on the farm known as Champeaux, 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 213 

where Edmond, so well known in connection witli 
latter-day breeding operations in the Perche, was 
born. In his later years Champeanx was ceded to 
the son Edmond, the father removing to the adjacent 
property known as La Borde, where he at an ad- 
anced age has continued to conduct farming and 
breeding operations. 

Louis Perriot remembers well the famous stallion 
Vieux Chaslin, that figures so prominently in the 
pedigrees of many of the best horses of the founda- 
tion period of our modern records, and describes 
him as extraordinarily good in the chest, neck and 
head. He testifies that Vieux Chaslin 's progeny 
was distinguished always for quality and vigor, be- 
ing in great demand from all discriminating buyers. 
His father bought one of his best sons, Favori 1st, 
a gray, foaled in 1862. Vieux Chaslin was dropped 
in 1847 and served for a long series of years with 
remarkable success in the La Ferte district. He 
was owned by M. Vinault, one of the leading stal- 
lioners of his day in the Perche. 

Favori 1st, the stallion that brought the elder 
Perriot his greatest fame, was the sire of Bayard 
(717), that got the celebrated stallion French Mon- 
arch (824), bought by Mr. Dunham for America in 
1880 at 5 years of age and subsequently sold to Mr. 
Wheelock of Moline, 111. This horse should not be 
confused with one of the same name, a black bred 
by Tacheau and sold into Iowa about 1874. An- 
other noted son of Favori 1st was Favora (725), 
out of the mare Marie by the great Coco. Favora 



214 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HOESE 

was imported by Mr. Dunham. He was not only a 
great horse individually, but a sire of uncommon 
merit. He was sold at $5,000 to go to Oregon. An- 
other Favora, foaled in 1868 and got by French Mon- 
arch, was imported by the Dillons in 1880. 

Louis Perriot was a frequent exhibitor at the 
shows about the time the Percheron Stud Book of 
France was established, although he never entered 
into the competitions with the zest subsequently 
displayed by his enterprising son Edmond. Both 
were famous for their skill in fitting horses for the 
showyard. At the Percheron society's show in 1887 
Louis won first among two-year-old stallions with 
Marmont, and in 1888 he was second in the three- 
year-old class with Kleber, and second in two-year- 
olds with Dompteur. At a subsequent show he was 
second in three-year-olds with Bacarat. He sold 
largely at one time to the Dillons, and from him 
Mr. Dunham obtained the great Baptiste (737) and 
Litrouvable (24146). His work must be judged not 
from his showyard triumphs, but rather from his 
exceptionally long career as a shrewd, sound, con- 
servative breeder. Endowed with a splendid phys- 
ique, great courage and determination, and un- 
bounded industry he is at this writing (1916) still 
conducting his own farm and breeding stud, al- 
though over 80 years of age. It should be observed 
that his son Edmond has been assisted and encour- 
aged in his breeding operations by the judgment 
and experience of the father. Louis Perriot is the 
last of the old school. It will be necessary to con- 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 215 

suit the stud book to get a list of the better-known 
horses and mares that he bred and raised. 

Ernest Perriot stands out conspicuously as the 
greatest constructive Percheron breeder of modern 
times. He was born on his father's farm of Amilly, 
and began operations on his own account about the 
year 1870 at the farm of La Chenelliere near Nogent, 
where he remained until shortly before his death in 
1912 at 1 'Orme, also near Nogent. It is the consensus 
of opinion of all those who have been most familiar 
with Percheron breeding for the last half century 
that Ernest Perriot did more to develop the most 
desirable modem type of the Percheron than any 
of his contemporaries. This he did by selecting and 
retaining the individuals which measured up in the 
very best fashion to the standard sought. He wanted 
size with quality, and like most of those who have 
left the greatest impress on all of the leading im- 
proved varieties of domestic animals, did not hesi- 
tate to resort to the powerful influence of blood con- 
centration. One has but to recall the names of a few 
of the great horses bred or raised by Ernest Perriot 
to realize the outstanding position he has occupied 
since the inception of stud book records. The list 
would begin with the celebrated Brilliant 1899 
(756), and includes such celebrities as Brilliant 
1271 (755), Gilbert, Bon Espoir, Fenelon, Childe- 
bert, Voltaire, Briard, Marathon, lago (768), La 
Ferte, Jules, Mouille, Villers, Aiglon and Brilliant 
3d. Most of these famous stallions are referred to 
at some length in our record of American importa- 
tions. 



216 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Ernest Perriot was one of the founders of the 
Percheron Stud Book of France, and occupied at 
different times the chief offices of that society. He 
was also the recipient of honorary decorations at 
the hands of the French Government. From 1880 
to 1892 he was confessedly the leading stallioner 
of the Perche. His strains of blood were in keenest 
demand, and he sold at higher prices than anyone 
else was able to obtain. For a long series of years 
Mr. Dunham had first option on all his best. He sold 
to others, but loyally held back for Mr. Dunham's 
examination all his choicest specimens. Until Oak- 
lawn was done others had no chance at the tops. 
Between these two great leaders of the trade dur- 
ing that period there existed a close friendship, 
based on mutual respect and characterized by per- 
fect loyalty on both sides, and it is computed that 
during his lifetime Mr. Dunham paid Ernest Per- 
riot fully $350,000 for Percherons. Mr. Perriot did 
not make a practice of exhibiting his horses in the 
public competitions. He was a man of strong per- 
sonality, a fine intellect, and an unswerving, inflex- 
ible strength of character — persistent always in 
pursuance of his ideals, which were attained in 
striking degree. 

Edmond Perriot, son of Louis, born in 1863 at the 
farm of Champeaux, has been one of the great fig- 
ures of the Perche in recent years. He married the 
daughter of M. Eigot, one of the ruling Percheron 
powers at that date, and this alliance proved the 
foundation of a most successful business career. It 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 217 

is said that M. Eigot owned or controlled more good 
Percheron mares in Ms day than any other dozen 
men in the district. Many of the best horses Mr. 
Dunham had from Ernest Perriot in the earlier days 
were from these Eigot mares. Edmond Perriot at- 
tained the top-most round of success, and during 
the Paris Exposition year, 1900, sold $100,000 worth 
of horses to America for cash. His reminiscences of 
the American trade will therefore be of interest in 
this connection: 

''One of my earliest recollections is that of see- 
ing Mark W. Dunham, the father of the present W. 
S. Dunham, who comes over here to buy every year. 
That was long before the stud book was known here, 
when horses could be shipped to America without 
pedigree. Mr. Dunham came here for 20 years, 
buying from 100 to 150 head annually. He was 
a keen judge and only wanted the best, for which 
he was willing to pay a good price. His earliest 
competitor in buying that I recollect was Mr, Dil- 
lon, who was also an excellent judge of a horse, but 
who was getting on in years before he came out to 
the Perche and did not continue very long. The 
Ellwoods took his place and for long years the buy- 
ing of mares and stallions in the Perche was prac- 
tically monopolized by them and Mr. Dunham. From 
the very beginning prices have been relatively high 
for good breeding stock, and Mr. Dunham did not 
hesitate, even in the early days, to go as high as 
$3,000 and even $5,000 for the horse he wanted. 

''Grradually other importers came to swell the 
field, and I remember when I was about 18 or 20 
years old that my father and all his neighbors in 
the Perche were selling all the good horses they 



218 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

could raise for America. It was at this time, 1881 
to 1883, that exportations to America reached to 
more than 2,500 head. The trade had then reached 
such vast proportions and become of such material 
importance to Percheron breeders that the Societe 
Hippique Percheronne, or French Percheron Society, 
was organized on June 23, 1883, by a few breeders 
in Nogent and the district. Of course my father 
and uncle were included in the number. It had been 
projected since 1878. There was also a rival society, 
le Percheron Francais, backed by the Societe des 
Agriculteur de France. There were many bitter 
quarrels between the two associations, but eventu- 
ally they became fused into one. 

''In the early '80 's Mr. Dunham ceased to make 
his purchases personally, entrusting that work first 
to Leonard Johnson and subsequently' to James M. 
Fletcher. The type selected by the Americans 
at the beginning was about the same size as the 
Paris omnibus horse. We used to ship about 7,000 
head a year to the omnibus companies in Paris, com- 
posed of males unsuitable for breeding stallions; 
also many barren mares went to Paris, but the ma- 
jority were shipped to Bordeaux, Montbeliard, 
Havre and other large cities. The proportions of 
dappled gray horses in the Perche at that time was 
about 75 per cent, and the weight of a mature stal- 
lion ran around 1,700 to 1,750 pounds. 

''If I remember rightly it was the Ellwoods, about 
1881, who first evinced a desire to buy larger horses, 
and they acquired the celebrated stallion Cesar, the 
precursor of the elephantine Percheron, as the 
French breeders say. Cesar weighed close on 2,200 
pounds at 2 years old. Unfortunately he died in 
crossing the ocean. Nevertheless the fiat had gone 
forth for larger horses, consequent on the improved 




OKIIK— KESIDEXCE OF THE LATE ERNEST PERRIOT, PRINCE OP 
I'ERCHEEON BREEDERS. 




LA BORDE— RESLDEXCE OF LOUIS PERRIOT. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 219 

and heavier farm implements manufactured at that 
period in the United States. This gave to our 
breeders the opportunity to prove to the world the 
remarkable versatility of the Pereheron horse, and 
friends and foes alike found that we could produce 
the real heavy, drafty type without sacrificing that 
high quality for which our product has always been 
famous. It was a crucial test in the history of our 
breed, but the breeders of the Perche rose success- 
fully to the occasion. 

''This new demand for a larger horse was taken 
up also by James B. McLaughlin, who came into 
prominence in the Perche after the Ellwoods had 
ceased to buy. Mr. McLaughlin was for years one 
of the most active of the American importers and at 
one time probably purchased as many horses as 
any other one importer. Indeed, a Paris or Nogent 
show without the presence of Mr. McLaughlin 
would be like Hamlet without the title character. 

"From 1880 to 1891 trade was very brisk with 
Americans in the Perche, but in 1892 it fell off 
and from 1894 to 1898 there were practically no 
exportations to the United States on account of 
the financial depression in that country. From the 
latter date up to 1905 the average annual exporta- 
tions of Pereheron stallions was about 700 head, 
but in 1906 the enormous number of 1,300 stallions 
and 200 mares were purchased by American im- 
porters. One of the prominent buyers during these 
busy years along with J. B. McLaughlin was James 
M. Fletcher, who followed Leonard Johnson and 
bought for the firm of Dunham, Fletcher & Cole- 
man. Afterwards quite a small army of American 
importers and breeders came to scour the Perche 
every year, and such men as W. S. Dunham, George 
Crouch, J. Omer Singmaster, Bell Bros., Kobert 



220 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Burgess, Chas. E. Coleman, Clias. Taylor of Taylor 
& Jones, Judson Hayden, A. B. Holbert and others 
have made important purchases in the Perche. 

'*In 1889 I commenced showing on my own ac- 
count at the Paris show, and obtained 3 prizes with 
4 horses, being awarded a second prize on Margon, 
a three-year-old which I sold to Mr. Dillon. My 
greatest triumph perhaps was at Paris at the great 
exposition of 1900, where I got 4 first prizes, the 
championships and the grand championship. I 
have been awarded 11 championships at the provin- 
cial shows in France since 1894, 6 championships 
at Paris since 1905, and 15 championships at the 
Percheron society's show since 1891. 

"I have known some celebrated stallions that 
have done much for the breed. In 1899 I sold a 
very fine stallion Phenix to J. M. Fletcher. In 
1900, Suffren, winner of first in the two-year-old 
class at Paris, was bought by J. B. McLaughlin, 
who also acquired a splendid three-year-old Raynal, 
first-prize winner at the same show. He got the 
famous stallion Orangiste the same year. This 
horse obtained first prize at Nantes and Nogent as 
a two-year-old. That year J. M. Fletcher bought 
2 fine stallions, Chambellon and Scipion, aged and 
three-year-old champions respectively. Champeaux, 
a stallion sold to Mr. Dillon as a five-year-old, was 
a remarkable breeder, and his progeny must be all 
over America. One of the finest three-year-olds T 
ever saw was Fusain, first at Paris and Rouen. He 
was bought by J. B. McLaughlin. Of course nearly 
all our best stock traces back to Brilliant (756), 
the son of Coco 2d, born in 1867 on the farm of 
my uncle Ernest Perriot. " 

The Perriot Percherons were distinguished usu- 
ally for their size, good bone, fine heads and well- 




AT TOP, EDJIOND PERRIOT ; AT BOTTOM, A. TACHEAU, SB.. .7. O. SIXG- 
MASTER AND JI. TACHEAUS yOUNGBST SOX, WHO PIED IX 1902. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 221 

set necks — a heavy drafty sort standing on short 
legs. Towards the end of Ernest Perriot's career 
it was commonly allowed that some little lack of 
size and constitution had begun to appear. There 
was apparently some falling away from the old- 
time outstanding excellence, and yet to this day 
among the strongly-bred. Perriot stallions where 
the individual quality scarcely measures up to the 
older standards the blood continues to breed on 
with extraordinary success, producing horses of a 
character illustrating once more the operation of 
well known laws of heredity — reversion to ancestral 
types. 

The Tacheaus. — ^Forever famous in the annals 
of the Perche will stand the names of Auguste 
Tacheau, pere et fils. After M. Vinault the senior 
Tacheau was the greatest stallioner and breeder 
of the La Ferte Bernard region. Like Charles Ave- 
line and other contemporaries, he was ever active 
in catering to the great American demand, and in 
this service acquired a fortune. When Charles 
Aveline was still a young man the two leaders in 
the development of Percheron interests were Ta- 
cheau grand-pere and the father of Louis and 
Ernest Perriot. It was Tacheau pere that acquired 
French Monarch (734) in 1868, and used him as a 
stud horse in the La Ferte district, during which 
time — 1868 to 1874 — that great horse served a large 
number of mares and acquired a reputation as a 
sire of highclass stock, being then sold to America 
to S. S. Waterbury and A, W. Cook of Iowa. Dur- 



222 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

ing his active period of service in France it has been 
recorded that "during the 6 years that he sei'ved 
mares for M. Tacheau he acquired in the district 
as a stallion a reputation almost without equal, 
his progeny always being remarkable for their 
quality and their size." 

M. Tacheau also bought from M. Sagot Coco 2d, 
a stallion that won many prizes, and, according to 
M. Pelleray and others, was the greatest sire of his 
day in all Perche. The name of Tacheau also will 
be associated with the celebrated stallion Besigue, 
sold to go to Dr. Hai'tman of Columbus, 0.; the 
great horse died unfortunately on ship board on 
the Atlantic Ocean. 

Probably the most noted stallion America ever 
obtained from the Tacheau stables was Seducteur, 
imported in 1888 by W. L. Ellwood and afterwards 
the property of H. G. McMillan. It was from M. 
Tacheau also that Mr. Ellwood bought Baccarat, a 
prizewinner in France, which sold as a three-year-old 
to Rufus B. Kellogg of Green Bay, Wis., for $6,000. 
In 1883 M. W. Dunham bought 20 two-year-old colts 
from M. Tacheau at $20,000 for the lot. Other pre- 
potent sires from Tacheau 's were Bibi and Jupiter. 

Auguste Tacheau 's interest in Percherons was 
transmitted to his son, thus carrying on the tradi- 
tional attachment of the family to the draft horse 
stock that has made the Perche famous on both 
sides the Atlantic. Tacheau pere was always pop- 
ular with the American buyers of his time. He 
operated in a country of rich pastures, handled a 




Auquste Tacheau Jr. 



r 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 223 

very large number of colts, and was a frequent and 
successful exhibitor at Nogent, Paris and other lead- 
ing shows, not only with stallions but with mares as 
well. In 1886 he won first at Nogent in yeld mares 
with Queen of Perche, and first, second and third in 
the two-year-old stallion class on Seducteur (7057), 
Phenix (6983) and Fils de Voltaire (6832), also tak- 
ing first for best lot of stallions. M. Tacheau was 
one of the members of the executive committee of 
the Societe Hippique Percheronne after its organ- 
ization in 1883. He died at Cannes in March, 1906. 

Auguste Tacheau, Jr., has more than sustained 
his father's reputation and it is not too much to 
say that he is one of the foremost French breeders of 
this day and generation. 

Charles Paul Aveline. — Another tower of strength 
in the Percheron trade at the time of the establish- 
ment of the stud book in France was the late M. Ave- 
line, whose death in January, 1916, was mourned 
on both sides the Atlantic by all familiar with lat- 
ter-day Percheron history. Born in 1853, the son 
of a breeder and farmer of high local repute, he early 
made his mark as a farmer, stallioner and breeder 
at La Crochetiere, Verrieres, Orne, a district which 
from time immemorial has been celebrated for rich 
pastures and good horses. 

The first reference made to M. Aveline in the gov- 
ernment haras records is in 1883, as the owner of a 
17-hand, iron-gray stallion known as Brilliant. He 
was given a bonus of 300 francs by the government 
authorities in that year. Another stallion named 



224 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Clieri, foaled in 1880, an iron-gray standing 18 hands 
high, is in the haras registry as approved for 1883, 
receiving the same stipend as Brilliant. It will be 
noted from this that three-year-old horses now began 
to receive official recognition. M. Aveline also had 
Margot, a dark-gray horse, foaled in 1878, 16.2 hands 
high, that was approved and served in 1883 with a 
pension similar to that accorded Cheri and Brilliant. 
During the succeeding years we find the names of 
the bay horse Decide, Paul, a mouse-gray (gris 
souris), Monarque, a light-gray 17 hands high, Her- 
cules, a black standing a little over 17 hands high, 
and Bon Coeur, a black 16-hand horse foaled in 1881, 
Sultan (362), Vulcain, Bon Courage, Dragon, Haut- 
bois. Fronton, ChicM, Etradegant, Etudiant and 
Orangiste. 

In his mature years M. Aveline removed to the 
fine estate of La Touche, near Nogent — his wife 
being a Chouanard — and here he maintained for a 
long series of years an establishment which was 
visited regularly, and always with keen enjoyment, 
by all American buyers. He was one of the found- 
ers of the Percheron Stud Book of France, and for 
15 years prior to his death was the society's pres- 
ident, a fact which illustrates well his standing in 
the Perche. M. Aveline visited the Trans-Mississip- 
pi Exposition at St. Louis, Mo., in 1904, and was 
decorated by the French government with the cross 
of Commandeur of the Merite Agricole and Chevalier 
of the Legion of Honor, He was a man of rare 
intelligence, sound business judgment, courage, tact 




Louis Ave tin e 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 225 

and lionesty, and in his recent deatli contemporary 
Percheron breeding in France lost its leading light. 
He- leaves a son Louis, who for some years has been 
active as successor to his father in the Percheron 
trade and who during the great war has been sta- 
tioned in the United States as an officer of the French 
military service buying horses for the armies of 
France. 

Credit Due These Pioneers. — From the foregoing 
it will appear that before the era of the foundation 
of the stud book there were men of good judgment, 
staunch admires of the Percheron breed, who united 
their efforts and created departmental and local com- 
mittees for the purpose of improving the breed. To 
these men must be paid a special tribute of grati- 
tude, whether they were in the government service, 
rich landowners of the district or only small farmers 
or tenants. They were not stimulated in the old 
days by big prices paid by importers. Some Perche- 
rons had been exported to different countries of 
Europe between 1820 and 1870, notably to Italy, 
Prussia, Saxony and Russia. And speaking of this 
period M. Paul Chouanard says: 

"Before the Crimean war M. Joseph Chouanard, 
then residing at La Touche 1854-1855, sold during 
some years a number of Percheron stallions and 
mares to a Russian general named Schweider, who 
used to remain for a week at La Touche at each 
voyage. At the Hamburg Show (Germany) in 1863 
3 Percheron stallions ow^ned by a gentleman from 
Saxony took prizes." 

The American people were the first, however, to 



226 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

recognize in a broad way the real merit of tlie breed 
for draft purposes in other lands. They pushed Per- 
cheron breeding on a large scale, and then it was that 
great prosperity began in the Perche. 

Founding of the Stud Book. — The first volume of 
the "Stud Book Percheron, public par la Societe 
Hippique Percheronne, autorisee par le Gouvern- 
ment" was issued at Nogent-le-Rotrou in 1883 under 
the Honorary Presidency of M. le Prefet d'Eure-et- 
Loir, the Honorary Vice-President of M. le Sous- 
Prefet de Nogent-le-Rotrou, and the ex-officio 
patronage of M. le Maire de Nogent-le-Rotrou. This 
was the beginning of official registration of Perche- 
ron horses in the home of the breed. The charter 
membership included all the leading breeders of the 
Perche, about 125 in number, one of the most emin- 
ent of whom, M. Michel Fardouet, was elected to 
the active presidency of the association. Louis Per- 
riot and M. Moulin were chosen vice-presidents, and 
M. Boullay-Chaumard was made secretary-treasurer. 
A board of directors, including 17 of the best-known 
supporters of Percheron interests, was created, 
prominent among those serving in such capacity 
being MM. Vinault, Sagot, Miard, Launay, Auguste 
Tacheau, Caget, Gautier, Desire Ducoeurjoly, Rigot, 
Goupil and Aveline fils. This movement had the 
active support of leading patrons of the breed in 
America, including Messrs. M. W. Dunham, J. H. 
Sanders, founder of the American stud book, and 
others. 

From the introduction to this initial volume of 




LA BBETONNERIE, FABM OF COaARI^S OHOUANABD. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 227 

the Stud Book of France, prepared by President 
Fardouet, we extract the following: 

^'In presenting the first volume of the Percheron 
stud book to the public, the Societe Hippique Per- 
cheronne is sensible of the keenest pleasure in hav- 
ing accomplished a work that will be of untold value 
to the future as well as the present breeders and 
owners of the Percheron race. The organization 
embraces in its membership nearly all of the promi- 
nent breeders and stallioners of the Perche, many, 
very many of whom have grown old themselves 
in the commendable work, and whose ancestors for 
generations have, like them, devoted their lives to 
developing and fostering this matchless breed, 
whose antiquity of origin stands first among those 
of the equine races of civilized nations^ — a breed 
that has been moulded to the necessities of the 
different periods of its existence for hundreds of 
years under the vivifying influences and climatic 
effects of the Perche, as well as by the inimitable 
processes of educating both males and females 
from the earliest age and with the most judicious 
care possible by the actual performance of the 
work they will be called upon to do during their 
lives, thus slowly and surely developing their physi- 
cal capabilities and instinctive aptitudes into hered- 
itary and transmissible forces, which have been 
exerted with such potent power in the amelioration 
of all races with which it has come in contact. 

''In feudal ages the country required a class of 
horses suited to an equestrian race, and the Perche 
supplied them. Under the empire of a higher civili- 
zation the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and 
commerce demanded horses for the post, the dili- 
gence, and for agricultural and draft purposes. The 
Perche was called upon, and she met the demand. 



228 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The introduction of steam as a power marked a 
new era; the building of railroads and steamships, 
and its adoption as a power in all the useful arts, 
in manufacturing, has changed all. The post and 
diligence are gone; the agricultural and great com- 
mercial marts remain to be supplied. Labor and 
food have become more costly, and the people, by 
force of necessity and the demands of economy, 
call for larger, stronger, but equally active horses 
to fill the requirements of the time. How has the 
Perche sustained herself under the pressure of this 
last and most difficult demand! The answer fills 
us w^ith pride and gratification. 

''The government and all the departments of 
France are eager purchasers of Percheron stallions 
to improve and ameliorate their native breeds. 
Kussia, Austria, Germany and Italy buy largely, 
both by direct government purchase and by pri- 
vate enterprise; even Great Britain, bound up as 
she is in her own egotism, is a customer of no 
small magnitude. With such magnificent acknowl- 
edgments of the value and superiority of the Per- 
cheron race we ought to be content; but this is 
not the half. The plains of South America are be- 
ing supplied with stock of our breeding; and lastly, 
that beautiful country, that great republic across 
the sea, whose progress is the marvel of the w^orld, 
is our most enamored admirer and liberal pur- 
chaser — so liberal, indeed, that grave apprenhen- 
sions are being expressed as to our future ability 
to supply the rapidly increasing demand upon us 
for our best males and females of all ages, with- 
out materially deteriorating our stock. This ques- 
tion is one that needs the most earnest thought and 
energetic action of all interested in the preservation 
to the Perche of her pristine glory. 




LA TOUCHE, BESIDEXOE OF THE LATE CHABLES AVELINE, LONG PBESI- 
DElNT OF THE PERCHEBON SOCIETY OF FBANCE. 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 229 

*'To preserve and perpetuate the valuable qual- 
ities of the Percheron race against invasion from 
all sources is one of the missions of this society. 
In order to accomplish this purpose, it becomes 
necessary thoroughly to investigate all elements of 
breeding that have contributed to the grand results 
we now enjoy, and by carefully classifying all ani- 
mals with their pedigrees, that we may see what 
strains of blood, which families and what orders 
of union have been prolific of the greatest benefits 
in the past, thus establishing invaluable precedents 
from which more intelligently to shape our future 
course, and with greater degrees of certainty arrive 
at the desired ends. These investigations have 
shown us th^t the improvements of the past neces- 
sary to meet the changing demands have been 
accomplished by selecting animals best suited to 
the new requirements, and, by a judicious system 
of in-and-in breeding perpetuate the valuable qual- 
ities sought for, at the same time intensifying their 
hereditary powers of transmitting those qualities." 

Meager Data at First Available. — ^In common 
with all other pioneer undertakings of this char- 
acter, the effort to collect for the first time reliable 
information concerning the foundation stock was 
attended by many difficulties. In respect to the 
remote origin of the race, and indeed in respect to 
the work done by the preceding generation in the 
Perche, there was only of record M. Du Hays' 
treatise, already alluded to in preceding chapters. 
Valuable and interesting as was this cleverly writ- 
ten work, its author apparently had not the time 
nor the patience to search the archives of the gov- 
ernment touching the Percherons of pre-stud book 



230 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

days, but contented himself rather with eulogizing 
the breed, and accepting, apparently without ques- 
tion, such traditions as had been handed down by 
writers who made no pretense of basing their 
statements upon anything more reliable than mere 
hearsay. True to their ancient habit of being more 
interested in the work of the moment than delving 
amidst dusty documents dealing with a long for- 
gotten past, these stud book organizers builded, as 
best they could, upon Du Hays and the memories 
of the older inhabitants of the district at the time 
they took up pedigree registration. 

Obviously little success was met with in attempt- 
ing to obtain actual pedigrees of the remote an- 
cestors of the horses found in the Perche at the 
date this basic volume was undertaken. Clearly, 
in the absence of any known written records, the 
practical thing to do was to make a beginning with 
the stock in the hands of the leading breeders of 
the district at the time, with such particulars as 
were to be had concerning the ancestry in the 
first and second generations. This was the course 
in the main pursued and in this respect the be- 
ginnings of Percheron registration on both sides 
the Atlantic differed in no wise from the circum- 
stances surrounding the first attempts at establish- 
ing public records for all our other best-known 
breeds of improved domestic animals. 

The Case of Jean-le-Blanc. — The great majority 
of stallions and mares entered in the first volume 
were animals foaled between 1878 and the date of 




M.Rigot ] )( [ M.VilleUe-Gate \ 



THE FRENCH STORY RESUMED 231 

issue, 1883. In a few notable instances, such as 
the case of the stallion recorded as Jean-le-Blanc 
(739), an attempt was made to ground some of 
the contemporary pedigrees in the blood of stal- 
lions of good repute known to have lived in a dis- 
tant past, but the record ascribed to such horses 
has in some cases yet to be substantiated by authen- 
tic data. Jean-le-Blanc 's existence can scarcely be 
a subject of doubt, but in the matter of his alleged 
descent from Gallipoly, in the light of our investi- 
gations at Paris covering the period in which he 
is said to have been foaled, we can only enter up 
the old Scotch verdict — "not proven." There 
probably was such a stallion as Jean-le-Blanc, else 
the name could never have been handed down with 
so much veneration, but no man lives today who 
can verify any part of his history. 

We have been at some pains to run down the 
story of this erstwhile celebrated progenitor of 
latter-day Percherons, but the most we can get in 
the Perche is from a few of the oldest breeders, 
who say that in their youth they remember hearing 
their fathers speak of such a horse. He is said 
to have been foaled in 1823 or 1824, but while the 
official records of that period, which we have al- 
ready presented, seem complete and circumspect 
in their listing of government-owned and govern- 
ment-approved horses, they contain no mention of 
Jean-le-Blanc. He is said to have lived to be 25 
years of age and to have left a numerous progeny. 
Fortunately, however, at this late date the matter 



232 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHBRON HORSE 

is one of merely academic interest. Those who 
made the entry of course acted in the utmost good 
faith. They had the tradition, and published it 
for what it was worth. They had no occasion for 
doubting its accuracy at the time. They had not 
the government archives before them. Criticism 
upon this head must therefore stop with the state- 
ment that those who were doing this pioneer work 
might have gone to Paris and searched, as we have 
now done, the manuscripts and records in the 
possession of the French Government. It is safe 
to say that had the Percheron breeders of France 
and America, who cooperated in launching this 
difficult enterprise in 1883, known of the mine of 
information then existing in Paris concerning the 
origin of the modem heavy draft type of Perche- 
ron horses, developed for the first time in this 
volume, they would have been quick to utilize it. 
The breed had a foundation history behind it which 
was not properly reflected by the earlier stud books. 
In other words, the Percheron of the ante-stud 
book days was a stronger-bred horse than is indi- 
cated by the existing foundation records. He is 
not the creation of the past 30 years. The pedi- 
grees really run back at least to the era of the 
first Napoleon, but the missing links cannot now 
be gathered up. 




171 ■ Thibault 1 A [ Anaiole Chap pels \ 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 'S. 

An extraordinary period of expansion in Perche- 
ron inaporting and breeding in America was inaug- 
urated in 1881. It continued until about 1890, reach- 
ing its climax in 1887 and 1888. The country had 
recovered from the depression, of the 70 's, land was 
advancing fast in value, and the states west of the 
Missouri River were being settled rapidly. Horse- 
power was urgently needed for the development of 
these prairies and horse-breeding on large western 
ranches was undertaken on a commercial basis. Busi- 
ness conditions were favorable. The result was a 
rapid growth of draft horse breeding in America. 

Only 20 men made importations in 1880, but the 
number of importers increased as follows : 1881, 29 ; 
1882, 39; 1883, 42; 1884, 42; 1885, 50. Still more 
were engaged in 1886, 1887 and 1888. The number 
of breeders increased more than tenfold. In 1880 
only 45 breeders were producing Percherons in 
America; by 1890 the number had increased to 593. 
During this period of expansion 4,988 stallions and 
2,566 mares were imported, and 1,920 stallions and 
2,089 mares were bred in America. 

Distribution by States. — Illinois was the leading 
state in the breeding of Percherons at this time, with 

233 



234 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a total of 203 breeders. The other prominent states, 
with the number of breeders in order, were : Iowa 66, 
Ohio 55, New York 31, Minnesota 30, Michigan 28, 
Pennsylvania 23, Wisconsin 23, Indiana 21, Kansas 
20, Missouri 18, and Nebraska 12. Breeding had 
been begun in 20 other states but was limited in 
extent. 

This epoch was made notable by the coming of 
some new men whose means and ambitions enabled 
them to take high rank in Percheron operations. 
Foremost among these was W. L. EUwood, DeKalb, 
111., who proved the strongest competitor which M. 
W. Dunham encountered in his lifetime. Mark Goad 
of Nebraska, Hon. T. W. Palmer of Michigan, John 
W. Akin of New York, Fred Pabst and E. B. Kellogg 
of "Wisconsin, Leonard Johnson, George E. Case and 
the Minnesota Percheron Horse Co., all of Minne- 
sota, also acquired prominence during this period. 

Oaklawn Breeding Operations. — Mark W. Dun- 
ham's breeding operations reached their climax dur- 
ing this period, as he reared 182 stallions and 173 
mares of his own production, almost as many as his 
four leading contemporaries combined. His rank, 
however, depends less on mere numbers than on the 
character of colts produced. The influence of the 
Oaklawn Farm operations of this period has been 
so far-reaching that it must receive detailed con- 
sideration. 

It was Mr. Dunham's idea from the outset to de- 
velop as rapidly as possible the breeding of Perche- 
rons in America, and he imported mares freely: in 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 235 

1881 36, in 1882 43, and in 1883 108. His total im- 
portations of mares from 1881 to 1890 amounted to 
319 head. An examination of the Oaklawn Farm in- 
ventory shows that he had on hand on Jan. 1, 1887, 
150 mares; on July 1, 1887, 148 mares and 37 more 
which were out on lease; on Jan. 1, 1888, 156 mares 
and 39 more out on lease; on July 1, 1888, 133 mares 
and 66 more out on lease; on Jan. 1, 1890, 179 mares 
and 13 out on lease. More details could be given, 
but enough has been cited to show the large number 
of mares kept in the Oaklawn stud. In individual- 
ity and breeding these mares were of the highest 
character, as they were imported by Mr. Dunham for 
his own use; he sought and secured the choicest 
mares obtainable in France, buying freely from all 
of the leading breeders and mare owners of the 
Perche. Breeders still living who were intimately 
acquainted with the mares assembled at Oaklawn in 
this period are agreed that no stud in America, and 
probably none in the world, ever numbered in its 
ranks so many mares of the best Percheron type 
and breeding. _ The 738 Percherons bred at Oaklawn 
between 1872 and 1900 were produced by 287 dif- 
ferent dams. This fact, considered with the numbers 
owned at different dates, is evidence that the rate 
of increase was slow. 

The Brilliant Blood.— In 1881 Mr. Dunham im- 
ported Brilliant 1271 (755) and in the same year 
Leonard Johnson, who was acting as a buyer in 
France for Mr. Dunham, imported his sire, Brilliant 
1899 (756). Brilliant 1899 was used but one year on 



236 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

purebred mares; he then was sold into a community 
where he was bred only to grade mares until his 
death. Brilliant 1271 was placed at the head of the 
Oaklawn stud in 1882 and became the most famous 
sire ever used in America, However, his greatest 
descendants are the result of line-breeding his sons 
and grandsons on daughters and granddaughters of 
Brilliant 1899, so that the two together must be 
given the credit for the dominance of Brilliant blood 
in the Percheron breed. 

The leading showring winners of the '80 's and 
early '90 's were dominated by the Brilliant blood, 
but the most remarkable feature is the prepotency 
of the leading horses of this strain. Out of the 56 
animals that won first prizes in the stallion and mare 
classes at the shows held by the Societe Hippique 
Percheronne de France during the years from 1901 
to 1908 all but 9 traced directly in the sire's line 
to Brilliant 1271 or Brilliant 1899, or both, the chief 
lines of descent being through Brilliant 3d 11116 
(2919), Villers 13169 (8081) and Marathon 11410 
(10386). 

In addition to this record, which includes only first- 
prize animals at the most important show in France, 
the record of the International Live Stock Exposi- 
tion at Chicago offers cumulative evidence of the 
prepotency and value of Brilliant blood. Of the 11 
different stallions that have won grand champion- 
ship honors in the 14 shows that have been held, all 
but 2 trace directly in the sire's line to this strain, 
and the champions that have since become famous 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OP THE '80 's 237 

as sires are line-bred in Brilliant blood to a consid- 
erable degree. Such overwhelming evidence of the 
high merit of the descendants of Brilliant 1899 and 
Brilliant 1271 in the showring and the stud warrants 
detailed consideration of these horses and of the 
methods used in combining their blood. 

The Story of Old Brilliant.— Foaled in 1867, Bril- 
liant 1899 was extensively used in the stud of Ernest 
Perriot, Sr., until 1881. His greatest son, Brilliant 
1271, was foaled in 1877. Old Brilliant begot other 
good sires, but his greatest honors come through his 
daughters. Four mares sired by Brilliant 1899 were 
the dams of Seducteur 8850 (7057), Tripoli 11110 
(20034), Marathon 11410 (10386) and Brilliant 3d 
11116 — four of the greatest show horses and sires of 
the breed. Imported to America in 1881 by Leonard 
Johnson the old horse was taken directly to East 
Castle Eock, Minn. Here he remained part of a 
year and sired 3 purebred colts. He was sold in 
1882 to P. C. Fockler, Independence, la. The horse 
was 15 years old when Mr. Fockler bought him 
for $2,000, but his vigor and vitality were such that 
he lived to be nearly 30 years old, proving to be a 
sure sire until near the time of his death. During 
the last few months of his life he became partially 
paralyzed in his hindquarters and it was necessary 
to call in the neighbors to help him to his feet, after 
which he could walk around. Eather than see the 
game old sire suffer Mr. Fockler had him killed. 

During his service in the stud at Independence 
Brilliant 1899 was bred only to grade mares. In- 



238 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

formation obtained by the Percheron Society of 
America in 1915 from Mrs. P. C. Fockler and Messrs. 
C. R. Kirkner, R. F. French, Becker, Myers, Leming 
and Stevenson, all of whom knew ■ the horse and 
owned colts by him, indicates conclusively that the 
Percheron breed has suffered a great loss through 
failure to put this grand old sire at the head of a 
stud of purebred mares in this country. 

All of the parties interviewed remembered the 
horse well and knew him as Old Brilliant. They 
knew nothing of the history-making character of 
his blood on the Percheron breed, but they were 
unanimous in considering him the greatest horse ever 
brought to their community. Colts sired by him 
were sold at remarkable prices, considering the de- 
pression which prevailed in values in the early '90 's. 
John Myers, a brother-in-law of Mr. Fockler, testi- 
fied that he sold a three-year-old grade filly by Bril- 
liant 1899 for $300 when an ordinary work horse 
could be bought for $60. Mr. Becker stated that he 
sold a three-year-old filly for $250 when values were 
correspondingly low. C. R. Kirkner knew of a Colo- 
rado man who came to Independence and bought 
40 fillies sired by Brilliant ; in fact, this man bought 
every filly he could find by the old sire, regardless 
of price. Mr. Myers spoke of an Idaho ranchman 
who came in and bought carloads of his colts, and 
added, ''It did not make any difference what kind 
of a mare was bred to Old Brilliant, the offspring- 
was always a typical Brilliant colt." John Steven- 
son, an aged horseman who patronized the old sire 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 239 

extensively said : ' ' Almost everyone was disappoint- 
ed in the Brilliant colts when foaled, as they were 
too small. They never quit growing, however, and 
they always retained that smoothness of form which 
made them real beauties." Mr. Ferrell, in comment- 
ing on the estimate in which the horse and his de- 
scendants were held in the community, remarked 
that it was quite a common thing to hear people 
remark at farm auctions whenever an extra good 
draft horse was put up for sale, " I '11 bet that horse 
has some of Old Brilliant's blood in him." 

This testimony is enough to show that the horse 
was a remarkable sire, both in France and in Amer- 
ica, and it is a calamity that so great a sire was not 
found by a breeder of Percherons who could have 
put him at the head of a purebred stud. The tes- 
timony of men who knew him at Independence was 
that he weighed a ton "in pretty good condition," 
and such supplementary information as has been ob- 
tained indicates that he was about 16.3 to 17 hands 
in height and weighed about 1,900 pounds when in 
breeding flesh. He was a deep-chested, wide-breast- 
ed horse of unusual style, symmetry, finish and 
quality, and with a head whose contour and char- 
acter would delight any Percheron breeder living. 
By great good fortune a photograph of the old horse, 
taken when he was well over 20, has been obtained 
and is reproduced herewith. 

Brilliant 1271. — Generally considered as the great- 
est sire ever used in improving the Percheron breed 
in this country and held by the majority to be the 



240 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

greatest sire the breed has ever known, this Brilliant 
1271 owes no small portion of his success to the fact 
that he was for 15 years at the head of the Oaklawn 
stud with access to probably the greatest group of 
draft mares ever assembled by one breeder. He was 
imported in 1881 as a four-year-old, but sired his 
four greatest sons before he left France. Fenelon 
2682 (38) and Voltaire 3540 (443) were foaled in 
1880, and Gilbert 5154 (461) and Briard 5317 (1630) 
in 1882, before he left France. It is well to note in 
passing that the arguments of those who contend 
that young stallions do not beget as excellent prog- 
eny as mature horses find here a record in direct 
conflict with their theory. Fenelon and Voltaire, two 
remarkable show horses and sires, were begotten 
when Brilliant was but a two-year-old. Seducteur 
8850 and Brilliant 3d 11116 were sired by Fenelon 
when he was but a three-year-old. There are no 
other horses with as great show and stud records as 
these in all of Brilliant's progeny. 

Brilliant 1271 came to Oaklawn without any spe- 
cial flourish of trumpets, but was so good in all- 
around Percheron type and character that Mr. Dun- 
ham immediately put him into service with Success 
452 and Vidocq 483 (732), then stud sires of proved 
worth. 

In this connection it is of interest to give the first 
detailed description recorded of Brilliant 1271; it 
appears in the Oaklawn catalog of 1882 as follows: 

''Black; foaled 1877; imported 1881; weight 1,850; 
16 hands high. Long and very round body; extra- 




03 s a ^ 
r^ N H ^ 

S ^ ic 

W S W '^ 
P Soj > 

hi i^_ d 

^ w " "^ 
W 1^ *rl o 

> > 2 hj 

S i» 1^ 1=1 

' w 

o g o S 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OP THE '80 's 241 

ordinary length of quarters, which are broad and 
level; very sloping shoulders of unusual depth; neck 
rather short; medium throttle; fine ear; wide be- 
tween the eyes; slightly Roman nose; very broad' 
breast; short legs and bone of uncommon width; good 
feet; immense stifle power. A horse with a combina- 
tion of excellencies throughout. ' ' 

Later descriptions give his weight as a little over 
a ton, but the testimony of men who knew him well 
is that he was in show shape at such weight and 
that he tipped the scales when in stud condition at 
about 1,900 pounds. A better idea of the horse can 
be obtained by a study of his picture, reproduced 
herewith. One thing is deserving of special em- 
phasis: Brilliant 1271 was a most impressive horse 
in his general bearing, and masculine character was, 
emphasized in every line. He was a dominant, vig- 
orous, supermasculine stallion and no one could 
possible mistake his power. His colts from the first 
were of outstanding character, and Leonard John-, 
son, who was at that time purchaser for Mr. Dun- 
ham in France, was quick to appreciate their value. 
As a result 30 of his get were imported to Oaklawn 
Farm in 1882. Brilliant 1271 had already been put 
into stud service at Oaklawn, but these colts sired 
in France and those which began to come at Oak- 
lawn Farm in 1883 quickly convinced Mr. Dunham 
that he had secured a sire of incalculable value. He 
immediately extended his use in the stud and from 
that time until his death he was made the premier 
stallion of the Oaklawn stud. 

Prepotency of Brilliant Blood. — The popularity of 



242 A HISTOEY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the Brilliant blood and its dominance in the '80 's, 
'90 's and to the present day in the Percheron breed 
cannot be held to have been accidental. Percherons 
were measured then as now by their excellence in 
conformation, underpinning, quality, style and 
action. That the vast majority of the prize-winners 
in all leading shows, abroad and in America, were 
strongly bred in this blood, is proof that such horses 
had the highest individual excellence. Besides, it 
was found that they bred on with a high degree of 
certainty. It was this that soon led men to value 
the Brilliant blood very highly, and it is because of 
the two essentials of sheer individual merit and 
great prepotency that Brilliant dominates the Per- 
cheron breed as much as Baron's Pride does the 
Clydesdale, or Champion of England the Shorthorn. 
The most remarkable show horses of the '80 's, 
which have since demonstrated the tremendous 
carrying power that spells prepotency, were Bril- 
liant 3d 11116, Seducteur 8850 and Marathon 11410. 
All three were sired by sons of Brilliant 1271 out of 
daughters of Brilliant 1899. The blending of the 
blood of Brilliant 1899 and his son. Brilliant 1271, 
both splendid individuals, resulted in these three 
which were all greater as individuals than either 
Brilliant, and extraordinarily prepotent. Tripoli 
11110 (20034), almost as great, was bred in exactly 
the same way, but was by still another son of Bril- 
liant 1271 and out of another daughter of Brilliant 
1899. Villers 13169 (8081) , a fifth grandson of Bril- 
liant 1271 through still another son, Briard 5317, is 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 243 

the only one of this remarkable galaxy of grandsons 
through which the blood of the two Brilliants has 
largely dominated the breed that is not out of a 
daughter of Brilliant 1899. He is closely allied in 
breeding, however, as his dam, Eobine (5697), was 
a sister to the dam of Brilliant 1899. 

Three other noted prize-winners of the same period 
■ — Producteur 4280 (68), winner of first prizes both 
abroad and in America, La Ferte 5144 (452), a show 
horse of extraordinary merit, and Cheri 5079 (2423), 
a noted winner on both sides of the ocean — have not 
been nearly so noted as sires and seldom appear now 
in the blood of winning horses. None was line-bred 
to any such degree as the five previously named, 
and only one, La Ferte, was of Brilliant blood, he 
being out of a daughter of Brilliant 1899. 

The conclusion which must be drawn is that the 
accumulation of the characters which made both 
Brilliant 1899 and Brilliant 1271 valuable as indi- 
viduals and as sires, by the expedient of combining 
their blood through line-breeding made their de- 
scendants extraordinarily valuable, not only because 
of unusual excellence as draft horses, but because 
of the power to transmit that excellence which we 
call prepotency. Ernest Perriot, Sr., has the honor 
of having brought about the breeding of all five of 
these line-bred sires of great note, and there is no 
question but that he has exerted a greater influence 
on the Percheron breed since 1880 than any other 
breeder in France or America. 

Developments at Oaklawn. — With three of the 



244 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

greatest sires of the time and a goodly band of mares 
in his possession Mr. Dunham had optimistic dreams 
of breeding and raising annually a splendid group of 
colts. The troubles which forever beset breeders of 
draft horses who try to do things in a wholesale 
way soon made their appearance, however. Mr. 
Dunham raised 31 colts foaled in 1883, but the fol- 
lowing spring when he had approximately 150 mares, 
a large proportion of them of breeding age, he raised 
but 13 colts. Abortion tells the story. In 1885 he 
reared 32 colts from 150 eligible mares, and in 1886 
got but 20. Probably the mares w^ere in too high 
condition. Anyhow they did not as a rule con- 
ceive for the first two or three years after importa- 
tion and the foals produced by those that did 
breed were inclined to be so lacking in vitality that 
the mortality was extremely high. He also learned 
that abortion spread rapidly among mares kept 
in large bands; that navel ill was an ever-present 
source of trouble ; and that idle mares after becom- 
ing acclimated were inclined to become so fat on 
rich bluegrass pasture that too high a proportion 
proved to be irregular breeders. Profiting, however, 
by these early experiences the present Oaklawn man- 
agement is meeting with better success along this 
line. However, at the time of which we write 
Mr. Dunham, Sr., reluctantly came to the decision 
that Percheron breeding would have to be done by 
carrying the mares in smaller groups and on a basis 
where their work on the farm would serve the 
double purpose of keeping them in better breeding 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OP THE '80 's 245 

condition and reducing the cost of their keep. By 
1887 he had sold many mares to men whom he had 
interested in Percheron breeding, and he also under- 
took the experiment of putting some out on lease. 

Results Despite Difficulties. — Despite these re- 
verses, which eliminated all hope of profit from his 
Percheron breeding operations, Mr. Dunham perse- 
vered and made some headway from 1887 on. In 
1887 he raised 57 colts, in 1888 69, in 1889 51 and in 
1890 44. A disastrous experiment in feeding silage 
in 1890 cost him several mares and a large number 
of colts, leading to the conclusion that silage was 
dangerous, as the presence of a little mold, harm- 
less to cattle, was sure death to unborn foals and 
very dangerous to the mares. In none of these years 
did he succeed in rearing more than one colt for 
every three mares; in 1890 he had 192 mares, most 
of them of breeding age, yet raised only 44 colts. 

Not many of the colts bred at Oaklawn were ex- 
hibited, and consequently it has been difficult to 
obtain accurate information regarding them. Many of 
the best colts were sold as yearlings, and Mr. Dunham 
had unusual facilities for the selection of other show 
horses because of his heavy annual importations of 
the best obtainable in the Perche. The most satis- 
factory information regarding the estimate placed 
on the American-bred horses raised at Oaklawn is 
furnished by the prices paid for them. It must be 
remembered that purchasers going there had the 
opportunity of making selections from a large num- 
ber of high-class imported horses or from the colts 



246 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

bred at Oaklawn; the fact that so many bought colts 
bred and raised there, at good prices, is evidence of 
the high character of the progeny. 

Through the courtesy of W. S. Dunham we ha.ve 
been given access to the records which include all 
of the original Oaklawn Farm entries in regard to 
sales. Many animals were sold in pairs or in groups 
containing three or more, and it has been necessary 
to eliminate these on account of inability to deter- 
mine the value of each. All horses sold individually 
for cash (no trades involved) have been listed, so 
far as important sires are concerned, and the cold 
figures give conclusive proof of the esteem in which 
American breeders held the colts bred and reared 
at Oaklawn. Prices and sires, given in order of their 
use, are as follows: 

Vidocq 483: 2 stallions sold for $1,770, an average 
of $885; 8 mares sold for $6,170, an average of $771; 
10 head sold for $7,940, an average of $794. 

Brilliant 1271: 64 stallions sold for $60,275, an 
average of $941 ; 44 mares sold for $31,975, an aver- 
age of $726 ; 108 head sold for $92,250, an average 
of $854. 

Brilliant 3d 11116: 2 stallions sold for $2,100, an 
average of $1,050; 2 mares sold for $1,150, an aver- 
age of $575; 4 head sold for $3,250, an average of 
$812. 

Aiglon 13145: 14 stallions sold for $15,100, an 
average of $1,078; 9 mares sold for $3,850, an aver- 
age of $427; 23 head sold for $18,950, an average 
of $824. 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OP THE '80 's 247 

Introuvable 16875: 19 stallions sold for $18,000, 
an average of $947 ; 7 mares sold for $2,700, an aver- 
age of $385; 26 head sold for $20,700, an average 
of $796. 

Villers 13169: 9 stallions sold for $9,400, an aver- 
age of $1,044; 5 mares sold for $1,925, an average of 
$385 ; 14 head sold for $11,325, an average of $808. 

Remembering that a large proportion of these ani- 
mals were sold during the '90 's, when values were 
greatly depressed, and that by far the greater pro- 
portion were sold as one-, two- and three-year-olds 
it will be realized at once that Mr. Dunham 's Amer- 
ican-bred colts were highly valued by breeders. Of 
the 64 stallions by Brilliant 4 were sold as weanlings, 
23 as yearlings, 18 as two-year-olds, 8 as three-year- 
olds, and only 11 as four-year-olds or over. Of the 
44 mares listed 5 went as weanlings, 16 as yearlings, 
15 as two-year-olds, 1 as a three-year-old and 7 at 
greater ages. 

Great Mares of Oaklawn Stud, — It is difficult to 
particularize as to the mares used in the Oaklawn 
stud at this time. Among those of unusual excel- 
lence we may name Janecia 2768 (1368). Her colt 
foaled in 1886, Brannock 5688, was sold for $1,200 
as a two-year-old, and her next colt, Belidor 9520, . 
foaled in 1888, brought $2,500 as a yearling. Both 
were by Brilliant 1271. She was a fairly regular 
breeder, producing 7 colts in 10 years, all but oner 
of which were stallions. Individual prices on the 
others could not be ascertained, but her colts wer-^ 
all of extra good character. Constance 1478 (14251, 



248 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

imported in 1881, was another extra good mare that 
did well for Mr. Dunham. One of her colts, Wolford 
2274, foaled in 1883, was sold as a three-year-old 
for $1,700; another, Bancroft 3367, foaled in 1884, 
was sold as a four-year-old for $2,000. She too was 
a regular producer, raising 9 foals in 12 years, 5 
of which were fillies; all her foals except the last 
one were by Brilliant 1271 and all were of more than 
average value. One of Constance's daughters, Ri- 
vonia 2213, was in a group of 15 mares sold in 1885 
to E. A. Hitchcock & W. B. Collier of St. Louis for 
$14,400. Linda 2751 (1521), imported in 1883, was 
another profitable mare. Her first colt, Bassanio 
4339, sired by Brilliant 1271 and foaled in 1885, was 
sold as a two-year-old for $1,400. She continued to 
breed with regularity till 1898, producing 10 colts 
in 14 years, all above the average. Six were stal- 
lions and 4 were mares. Faustine 1314 (1431) was 
another excellent show mare and her colts though 
few were good. She was about 16 hands high, 
weighed 1,700 pounds, and although a failure at 
first because she did not raise a colt from 1881 to 
1884, she later produced exceptionally good ones: 
Barcino 4341, foaled 1885, was sold as a yearling for 
$1,000, and her next, Brastin 5689, foaled in 1886, 
brought $1,200 as a two-year-old. Both were by 
Brilliant 1271. She raised but 6 colts in 16 years, 
however, and so cannot be considered a profitable 
matron. 

Peerless 744, a medium-sized, symmetrical brood 
mare, raised 3 colts for Mr. Dunham and was then 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 249 

sold to Ballachey Bros., Brantford, Ontario, and 
raised 8 in 10 years. Rachel 1461 (1460) was the 
dam of Bartholdi 3666, sired by Brilliant 1271 and 
sold as a two-year-old for $1,500; she was a regular 
producer of good ones, raising 5 by Brilliant 1271. 
Delora 2756 (1530) was the dam of 8 good ones, the 
last of which, Ali 20012, was placed at the head of 
Grant Caldwell's stud at Dana, 111., where he sired 
Ali 2d 30783, champion American-bred stallion at the 
International Live Stock Exposition in 1903. Bril- 
lantine 5675 (6948) was a great mare individually 
and raised good colts, but not many of them. Zither 
2283 (Lisette 36) was another valuable brood mare. 
Not the least was Absala 5651 (6718), the dam of 
Linda 12986, foaled in 1889. Linda was the dam 
of 9 colts, foaled in 11 years, 1892 to 1902 inclusive, 
yet won championship honors at the International 
in 1901. One of Linda's colts. Allegro 20046, sold 
as a three-year-old in 1899, when values were sub- 
merged almost to the point of extinction, for $1,150, 
and she left many others as good. Comment on other 
mares might be added, but as we shall come back 
to Oaklawn mares from time to time in considering 
other studs. 

Oaklawn Influence. — Mr. Dunham's aggressive 
work as a breeder, exhibitor and advertiser of Per- 
cherons did more to hasten the development of Per- 
cheron breeding than any other factor of this period. 
He exhibited at the Chicago shows, sent a strong 
exhibit to the New Orleans Exposition in 1885, and 
was one of the organizers of the first show held by 



250 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the Perclieron Society of America in 1886.* His 
horses were well toward the top in all shows, his 
advertising was pushed in every legitimate manner, 
and his farm and personality appealed to men of 
w^ealth who were interested in farming. From the 
very nature of his operations it is hard to distin- 
guish between his work as an importer and as a 
breeder. Sales frequently carried animals of his 
own breeding as well as imported horses. 

Vidocq 483 was champion at the Chicago show 
in 1881; Brilliant 1271 was first as aged stalUon and 
champion at the New Orleans Exposition in 1885, 
where he was champion over all breeds; Producteur 
4280 (68) (aged heavy-weight class), Gilbert 5154 
(461) (four-year-old heavy-weight class), Tuduc 
5156 (474) (three-year-old light-weight class), and 
Conde 5163 (two-year-old), were all first-prize win- 
ners in the great Percheron Society show in 1886 
at Chicago; Ercilla 2211 (1429) (five-year-old heavy 
class), Bellora 2237 (1415) (four-year-old heavy 
class), Giara 2755 (1531) (four-year-old light class), 
Pose 4344 (4899) (three-year-old heavy class), and 
Belle 4352 (4852) (two-year-old) were all first-prize 

*At the Percheron Society show at Chicago in 1S83 the five-, 
four- and three-year-old stallion classes were divided into heavy- 
and lisht-v/eight groups as follows: five-year-olds, 1,800 p.ounds 
or over, and under 1,800 pounds; four-year-olds, 1,750 pounds or 
over, and under 1,730 pounds; three-year-olds 1,700 pounds or 
over, and under 1,700 pounds. Mares of same ages were also 
divided as follows: five-year-olds, 1,750 pounds or over, and 
under 1,750 pounds; four-year-olds, 1,700 pounds or over, and 
under 1,700 pounds; three-year-olds, 1,000 pounds or over, and 
under 1,GOO pounds. The result was to double the number of 
prizes given, and to classify the animals more exactly into the 
large- and medium-sized types. For convenience we refer to 
these merely as the heavy- and light-weight classes. 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 251 

mares in their respective classes at the same show. 
Brilliant 1271 was awarded first in the class for 
the sweepstakes stallion with five of his get at this 
show. 

In 1887 at the horse show held in connection with 
the Fat Stock Show at Chicago Oaklawn won first 
on Pacha 6977 (4358), a three-year-old, first on Gas- 
tronome 7058 (8952), a two-year-old, and first on 
Julia 5676 (7015), a two-year-old mare, besides 
numerous prizes below first. Brilliant 1271 was 
again first in class for stallion and four of his get. 
In 1888 at the same show Oaklawn won first in aged 
stallion class on La Ferte 5144, subsequently made 
senior champion over all breeds, first in the three- 
year-old class on Dompteur 9201 (9886), and lesser 
prizes in various classes. In 1889 Fenelon 2682, then 
a seasoned sire 9 years of age, won first in the aged 
class, and Oaklawn also won first in the yearling 
class, with seconds in the three- and two-year-old 
stallion classes. Oaklawn also won firsts in the two 
mare classes on Vanity 2275, bred at Oaklawn, and 
Bertha 5340 (7008), the latter winning first in the 
class for mare with colt at side. In 1890 Oaklawn 
did not exhibit at the American Horse Show, but 
two grandsons of Brilliant 1271, Seducteur 8850 
and Tripoli 11110, won the first places in the aged 
and three-year-old stallion classes, and another 
grandson. Baccarat, 11326, was second in the three- 
year-old class. Each was shown by a different ex- 
hibitor. Albatros 13062, a son of Seducteur 8850, 
was the first-prize two-year-old and Kirsch 2d 11837, 



252 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

by Kirsch 7196 by Confident 3647 by Brilliant 1271, 
was first in the yearling class, so that the firsts in the 
yearling and two-year-old classes were both won by 
great-grandsons of Brilliant 1271. Every first was 
won by a grandson or great-grandson of Brilliant 
1271, a record which was duly advertised by Mr. 
Dunham, as Brilliant 1271 was then in active service 
at the head of Oaklawn stud. 

OaJclawn Sales of '80 's. — Mr. Dunham's sales ex- 
tended over a wide area, and he was very influential 
in developing breeding interests in other states. He 
had invested nearly a quarter of a million dollars 
in Percheron mares by 1890, and while the returns 
were not at all commensurate he had confidence in 
the ultimate development of Percheron breeding in 
America. While his chief attention was centered 
on sales of stallions, he did all he could to encourage 
breeders in founding studs of Percherons in this 
country. To illustrate how widely the mares were 
distributed it may be noted that the 287 mares out 
of which Mr. Dunham bred colts between 1870 and 
1900, except those retained or which died, were sold 
to 88 different buyers. Prominent purchasers of 
mares in this epoch were: Speedwell Farms, Lyn- 
don, Vt., whose operations are still continued; E. A. 
Hitchcock & W. B. Cole, St. Louis, Mo., whose studs 
were soon dispersed; Gr. W. Wilcoxen, Canton, 111., 
whose good Percherons have been of inestimable 
value in developing draft horse interests in Fulton 
Co., 111.; H. A. Babcock, Neenah, Wis., who made 
his money in market horse operations and bought 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 253 

Ms Perclierons with seasoned judgment; Willard & 
Fuller, Mapleton, Minn.; The Minnesota Percheron 
Horse Co., Cazenovia, Minn.; T. & J. Harper, Paw 
Paw, 111.; W. J. Jordan & Son, Newbern, Va.; Par- 
sons & Baldwin, Watervliet, Mich.; W. H. Penny, 
Stronghurst, 111., and many others. 

Oaklawn sold more history-making sires than any 
other establishment during this period. Among 
those which have exerted a far-reaching influence 
on the breed in this country were the following: 

Confident 3647 (397), sold to R. Nagle & Sons, 
Grand Ridge, 111., as a four-year-old for $3,500. 

Fenelon 2682 (38), sold to R. Kellogg, Green Bay, 
Wis., as a four-year-old for $3,500. He was subse- 
quently sold to E. A. Hitchcock of St. Louis for 
$6,000, and later headed the stud of Thomas W. Pal- 
mer, then President of the American Percheron 
Breeders' Association. 

Gilbert 5154 (461), sold to Leonard Johnson as a 
four-year-old for $3,200. 

Briard 5317 (1630), sold to Leonard Johnson as a 
four-year-old for $5,000. (All of these were imported 
sons of Brilliant 1271). 

Producteur 4280 (68), sold to Brickman & Baker, 
Rednerville, Ontario. 

Other sires sold at this time that were of great 
value were: 

Bavardo 7236, sold to J. H. Smith, Milo, la., in 
1888 as a yearling for $1,200 and used chiefly on 
grade mares; Bendago 11807, sold to G. S. Hanna, 
Bloomington, 111., in 1890 as a yearling for $1,200, 



254 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

heading this stud for a time and leaving 36 pure- 
bred colts; Belidor 9520, sold to F. H. Redfield, Ba- 
tavia, N. Y., in 1889 as a yearling for $2,500 and 
being used on some purebred mares, though not 
many; Breme 7229, sold to the Little Missouri Horse 
Co. in February, 1888, when about 10 months old, 
for $700, leaving some purebred colts, but being used 
chiefly on grade mares. The last four were bred at 
Oaklawn, and were sired by Brilliant 1271. There 
were numerous others of almost, if not quite, equal 
rank. 

Mr. Dunham's Influence. — One of the leading fea- 
tures of Mr. Dunham's work at this time was its 
effect on others. He demonstrated conclusively that 
Percherons paid. He proved that Percherons could 
be bred in America, and sold at early ages and high 
prices. He tested out to his own satisfaction and 
for the benefit of others the impracticability of un- 
dertaking to keep Percheron mares in large bands, 
idle, for the sole purpose of rearing colts. He came 
to the conclusion that Percheron breeding must be 
carried out on farms where the mares could do work 
enough to pay their way and where their prolificacy 
would be increased by reason of healthier breeding 
condition induced by moderate work. He advertised 
early and late, more freely and with better results 
than any horseman of his own or earlier times, and 
he popularized Percherons on the soundest of all 
platforms — "their utility value on the farm, and 
their ability to raise the value of common horses 
from one-fourth to one-third by the first cross, and 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 255 

to continue raising the market value by each subse- 
quent cross." 

Ellwood Green. — It is doubtful whether the history 
of any breed furnishes a parallel to the spectacular 
career of W. L. Ellwood in Percherons. Backed by 
his father, I. L. Ellwood, a wealthy manufacturer 
of barbed wire, W. L. Ellwood began his operations 
in 1881 by importing a few Percherons. A few more 
were brought over in 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1885, but 
in 1886 he began in earnest by importing 164 stal- 
lions and 100 mares. His heavy importations con- 
tinued during the next four years. He never hesi- 
tated at price in his efforts to obtain the best horses 
the Perche possessed. The firm, consisting of W. L. 
Ellwood and his father, who gave little attention to 
the horse business, acquired about 4,000 acres of 
land near DeKalb, 111. This was divided into six 
large, well-equipped farms, which were first oper- 
ated with grade Percheron mares. These were later 
replaced by purebreds. Excellent sale bams and 
offices were built in DeKalb, and a thoroughgoing 
business organization was developed to handle the 
farm operations, and the breeding, importation and 
sale of Percherons. 

Mr. Ellwood decided at an early date that Perche- 
rons were the most desirable for American condi- 
tions. In one of his early catalogs he said: "I am 
sincere in my belief that it has been fully demon- 
strated that for individual merit, and powers of 
transmitting same to his progeny, the Percheron 
shows a purity of breeding that is unapproachable, 



256 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

justifying my use of tlie quotation that ' to compare 
him with other draft breeds is like comparing water 
with other elements, or gold with other metals.' " 

With this idea uppermost in his mind, Mr. Ellwood 
bought the best horses he could find, and he had the 
advantage of the assistance of Thomas Sloan, an ex- 
perienced and discriminating judge. Practically un- 
limited means made it possible for him to outbid 
the other buyers who were then competing with him 
in the Perche, and even Mr. Dunham was hard 
pressed to hold his own in the showring during the 
Ellwood days. All told, the Ellwoods imported about 
800 Percherons, and bred during the first 10 years 
65 stallions and 67 mares, or a total of 132 head by 
1890. This brought them into second place in the 
Percheron operations of this epoch, both as import- 
ers and as breeders. 

Sires Used by Mr. Ellwood. — Some of the greatest 
show horses of the breed were imported and ex- 
hibited by Mr. Ellwood, who was quick to realize 
the advantage of this form of advertising. In 1886 
at the first great show held by the American Per- 
cheron Horse Breeders' Association he won second 
in the aged stallion heavy-weight class on Cheri 
5079 (2423), champion at the government show at 
Chartres, France, in 1885; second on Phebi 5048 
(329) in the four-year-old heavy-weight class; first 
on King of Perche 4975 (6738) in the four-year-old 
light-weight class; first on Extrador 4979 (6890) in 
the three-year-old heavy-weight class; second on 
Paolo 5025 (4914) in the two-year-old class. He also 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 257 

won second on Queen of Perche 5056 (6740) in the 
aged mare class for heavy-weights, this mare having 
won championship at the Percheron Society of 
France show at Nogent in June of that year. These 
winnings and others were enough to make Ellwood 
Green widely advertised, for cases are few and far 
between where new exhibitors break into the top 
ranks at the very outset to so great an extent. 

Cheri and Seducteur. — Cheri was the first noted 
horse used at Ellwood Green, and it was most unfor- 
tunate that high condition inhibited his career in the 
stud. He sired but 17 stallions and 22 mares during 
his service in 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888. He died 
in 1888. King of Perche 4975 (6738) was still more 
unfortunate ; he also died in 1888 with but 9 stallions 
and 4 mares to his credit. The loss of these horses, 
probably largely due to too high condition main- 
tained for too long a period, was a distinct injury to 
Percheron interests in America. Cheri was a most 
remarkable horse. Foaled in 1881 and imported in 
1885, he was about 17 hands in height, weighed over 
a ton, and was a compact, well-proportioned stallion 
with good style, finish and action. He was gray in 
color, heavy-boned, but with excellent quality, and 
such colts as he did get were good ones. He too 
was line-bred, being sired by a grandson of Coco 2d 
(714) out of a daughter of Coco 2d, and had his 
career in the stud been longer continued much bene- 
fit to the breed would have accrued. King of Perche 
was a marvelously finished show horse, but lacked 
in size. 



258 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Urbain 6805 (5680), foaled in 1883 and imported 
in 1887, was also used at the head of the stud, and 
sired 11 stallions and 13 mares. He was a rugged, 
big horse, very good throughout. He won first at 
the national show at Rennes, France, in 1887 and 
third in the aged stallion class at the American 
Horse Show, Chicago, in 1890. Eigilo 4980 (2103) 
was another very good horse, foaled in 1883 and 
imported in 1886, that proved to be a very good 
breeder. He was first at the Illinois State Fair in 
1889 in the class for stallion and five of his get. 

Seducteur 8850 was probably the greatest stock 
horse ever used at Ellwood Green. He was first in 
the two-year-old class at the show of the Societe 
Hippique Percheronne in 1886, and was second at 
the same show in 1888, being beaten only by his half- 
brother Brilliant 3d 11116. In 1890 Seducteur won 
first at the American Horse Show at Chicago, and 
one of his colts, Albatross 13062 (30051), won first 
in the two-year-old class. Seducteur also won in 
the class for stallion and three of his get. The ex- 
cessively high condition in which he was kept from 
1886 to 1890 later affected his breeding powers, and 
he was a poor getter throughout his life. His colts, 
however, were so extraordinarily good that he was 
valued very highly and was subsequently at the head 
of two other purebred studs. No sire used in the 
west in the past 25 years stands higher than Seduc- 
teur in the estimation of American breeders. In- 
dividually he was large, standing about 17 hands 
high and weighing considerably over 2,100 pounds 




SEDUCTEUB 8850 (7087) FIKST-PKIZE TWO -YEAR- OLD, PERCHERON SOCIETY 

OF nujsrcE show in isse; first- prize aged stallion and winker 

OF GET-OF-SIRE prize at CSHICAGO in 18S0. 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 259 

in show condition. He was of the strong, sturdy 
type with extra heavy bone, and was a very massive, 
deep-middled, strong-backed horse, with extra good 
loin and a long, level croup. He stood well on his 
underpinning and was an up-headed, stylish horse, 
lacking a trifle in finish about the head and neck, 
but very masculine. He was used by Mr. Ellwood till 
about 1893, when he was sold to William Goodwin & 
Son of Benson, Minn. Here he was used chiefly on 
grade mares. The Goodwins in turn sold him to 
parties near Malvern, la., about 1896 or '97, and 
here again he was used chiefly on grade mares, 
though he did sire three purebred colts during the 
two or three years he stood there. He was subse- 
quently found and purchased by H. G. McMillan of 
Lakewood Farm, Eock Rapids, la., and his later 
history will be considered in connection with that 
stud. 

Mares in Stud. — Mr. Ellwood 's operations in Per- 
cherons ceased about 1898, and it is impossible to 
obtain exact inventory figures on the number of 
mares owned at different periods. An analysis of 
the catalogs issued gives the number of mares owned 
at different times, and the records in the offices of 
the Percheron society show the number of colts 
raised: In 1887 he had 144 mares and recorded 16 
stallion colts and 10 filly foals as bred by himself; in 
1888 he had 126 mares and recorded 9 colts and 12 
fillies; in 1889 he had 129 mares and recorded 18 
colts and 16 fillies; in 1890 he had 94 mares and 
recorded 13 colts and 10 fillies. It will be noted that 



260 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the percentage of foals to mares owned was approxi- 
mately 25 per cent. It must be remembered of course 
that in 1887 and 1888 many of the mares were too 
young to foal. In 1890 most of the mares were old 
enough to raise colts, but even then the percentage 
was very small. Part of the trouble was in the 
mares, for while Mr. Ellwood as a whole had a high- 
class lot of mares in size and in draft type, a good 
many of them lacked feminine character, being very 
massive with more draft type than brood mare pat- 
tern. Another trouble was in the stallions. Seduc- 
teur, relied upon in 1889 and later, was not sure. 
The acclimation troubles which often beset im- 
ported animals undoubtedly hindered many of the 
imported mares from raising colts for the first few 
years after importation. Queen of Perche 5056 
(6740), Mr. Ellwood 's greatest mare, a winner in 
France and America, raised but 4 foals in 12 years — 
3 fillies and 1 stallion. Part of her trouble was prob- 
ably due to fitting for the sho wring; she raised a 
colt imported in dam and one the next year, then 
quit for a time. 

Influence on Other Studs. — Sales were made to 
many of the leading breeders, and some studs were 
founded directly on purchases made at Elwood 
Green. T. L. & J. L. De Lancey, Northfield, Minn., 
made their start in Percheron breeding by purchas- 
ing a carload of mares in 1885. The Minnesota Per- 
cheron Horse Co., Cazenovia, Minn., also made heavy 
purchases from the Ellwoods. T. W. Palmer, De- 
troit, Mich., R. B. Kellogg of Wisconsin, The River- 




cJ.L.DeLancey J A t T.L.DeLaneeif 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 261 

side Eanch of North Dakota, the Risser Horse Co., 
Onarga, 111., the Colverdale Stock Farm and H. P. 
Malone, New Vienna, 0., 0. L. Thisler, Chapman, 
Kans., Walter Green, Mapleton, N. D., Thomas Cross, 
Bangor, Mich., C. E. Davis, Davis Junction, 111., C. E. 
Sutton, Eussel, Kans., Cross Bros., Durand, 111., R. 
Nagle & Sons, Grand Ridge, 111., D. H. & J. W. Snyder, 
Georgetown, Tex., and W. Sprole, Traer, la., were 
among the many who bought mares of the Ellwoods, 
and in some instances stallions as well. An analysis 
of the produce records of the imported mares sold 
shows that they were not as a whole very regular 
breeders, even in the hands of subsequent owners, 
and their influence on the breed has been much less 
than it should have been. 

Noted Sires Sold. — Seducteur was the greatest sire 
sold. Superieur 5752 (2188), a very good horse and 
good breeder, went to head the De Lancey stud. 
Niger 4986 (2951) and Picador 3d 5078 (4815) 
were good horses sold in 1887 and 1888 to head the 
Minnesota Percheron Horse Company stud at Caze- 
novia, and the company bought a carload of the best 
mares Ellwood had about this time. Mark M. Coad, 
Fremont, Neb., who also had ranches in Wyoming, 
bought three sires about 1887, one of which, Turc 
6539 (10052), proved to be a very prepotent stallion, 
probably one of the best, if not the best, ever used 
west of the Missouri River. There were numerous 
others that had less opportunity, but that have done 
much good in local spheres. 

Summary of Ellwood Operations. — Great credit 



262 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

must be given to the Ellwoods for the benefits accru- 
ing from their work in this epoch of expansion. They 
were wealthy, very influential in Illinois and else- 
where, and exerted a tremendous influence in swing- 
ing popular favor more strongly toward Percherons. 
They had the means and the disposition to obtain 
the best horses that could be bought, and transferred 
to American shores a large percentage of the prize- 
winners of the French shows between 1885 and 1890. 
They advertised in the showring, covering not only 
Illinois, but all nearby states, and were liberal users 
of newspaper advertising. They also resorted to col- 
ored posters of attractive character which were wide- 
ly distributed. In addition to all these factors they 
sold their horses on a fair margin of profit and were 
at all times willing to take reasonable paper. They 
also had confidence in the ultimate development of 
Percheron breeding in America, and manifested this 
by liberal importations of mares for their own use 
and sale. The result was greatly to encourage the 
small breeder. Everything considered, the firm de- 
serves a very high rank in the Percheron history of 
this period and the work has been of incalculable 
benefit to Percheron interests in America. 

Daniel Dunham's Work. — Daniel Dunham of 
Wayne, 111., stands third in rank among the breeders 
of this epoch, as he raised 50 stallions and 41 mares 
of his own breeding. His stud was founded on im- 
ported stock, some purchased from Oaklawn and 
some imported by himself. The majority of the 
mares were imported in 1880, but many others were 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 263 

bred by Mr. Dunham and reserved for his own use. 
He had 43 mares in 1889, only 28 of which were old 
enough to produce colts, and a comparison of the 
records made by his mares shows that he had more 
regular-producing brood mares in proportion to total 
number owned than either Oaklawn or Ellwood 
Green farms. Probably this was due in part to the 
fact that he kept his best breeding females, and in 
part to their being maintained under farm condi- 
tions, where some work was required. 

Marquis 868 (774), a son of Superior 454 (730) 
out of a daughter of Coco 2d, was the leading sire 
used at this time. He was a gray of good type and 
left some very good colts. Prosper 2501 (1155), a 
gray imported in 1883 by Oaklawn Farm, was the 
next sire of consequence. He was sired by Vaillant 
(404) out of a daughter of Prosper (893). He was 
a large, massive, heavy-boned horse of very rugged 
type and crossed well on the daughters of Marquis 
868 (774). Don Brilliant 2029 (2482), a black son 
of Brilliant 1899 out of a daughter of Favori 1st 
(711), was used a little later. He stood 16 hands 
high, weighed about 1,900 pounds and was imported 
by Daniel Dunham in 1882, with others, and sold to 
J. W. Morgan & Co., Tower Hill, 111. The colts he 
sired were of such excellent character and so uniform 
that Mr. Dunham bought him back in 1890 at a long 
price. He left the choicest colts of any sire used, 
but had a select band of mares to work on. 

Mares were sold by Daniel Dunham to William 
Holegate, Wyoming, 111., C. P. Dewey, Toulon, 111., 



264 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

J. H. Cowlishaw, Blakeville, la., W. P. Buswell, 
Neponset, 111., F. M. Bulir, Knittle, la., Tim Payne, 
Dunbar, Neb., D. E. Branham, Litchfield, Minn., and 
numerous others. Those sold near Toulon, 111., and 
Wyoming, 111., were most numerous and have favor- 
ably influenced Percheron breeding in those sections. 
Stallions were sold over a wide range of territory, 
but few had any opportunity on purebred mares. As 
a consequence they have achieved no special re- 
nown, although they undoubtedly did much good in 
improving the common horses of their time. Daniel 
Dunham's career, which was distinctly that of a 
breeder, was cut short by financial difficulties which 
made it necessary to sell the Percherons in 1893 at 
a great sacrifice. The dispersion of such a stud, 
which had been carefully built up by a man whose 
instincts were those of a creative breeder, was most 
unfortunate and its sale at a time when all business 
throughout the United States was depressed scat- 
tered and dissipated the stock, as other breeders 
were not in a position to purchase. 

The Dillons. — The Dillons, operating as Ellis Dil- 
lon & Company and later as Dillon Bros., took fourth 
place in number of animals bred during this period, 
but in point of influence they ranked close to Mark W. 
Dunham and W. L. Ellwood. They were aggressive 
importers, exhibitors and breeders, and but for their 
adherence in part to a rival stud book organization 
might have exerted more influence on Percheron af- 
fairs than they did. They bred and raised 39 stal- 
lions and 43 mares — Percherons — during this time 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 265 

and were also active breeders of other draft horses. 
They exerted a greater direct influence on draft 
horse operations in central Illinois than any other 
breeders of this period, and many of the leading 
studs in McLean, Tazewell, Livingston and La Salle 
counties are founded wholly or in part on stock from 
the Dillon stud. 

Sires Used. — The chief sires which the Dillons used 
at this time were Extrador 4525 (386), imported by 
them in 1883, and Papillon 3559 (379), imported 
by Mr. Dunham. Both horses were of the rugged, 
massive type and bred very drafty colts. Powerful 
6670 (Bayard 7519) was one of the best sires ever 
imported by the Dillons, but he was sold by them 
in 1882 to William Hurt, Arrowsmith, 111., and was 
not used in their own stud, though they subsequently 
bought and used one of his sons, Dave P. 14366, bred 
by William Hurt. Favora 1542 (765), foaled in 
1868 and imported in 1880 by the Dillons, was an- 
other horse of great note in Percheron breeding. He 
was about 17 hands high, weighed over a ton even 
after 12 years old, and was an extremely well pro- 
portioned, rugged, heavy-boned horse whose stock 
was noted for size and draftiness. He was among 
the winners at the World's Exposition at Paris in 
1878, and although a very aged horse for showring 
work took first at St. Louis in 1880. He sired but 
5 colts in this country, probably because he had been 
used to the limit in France and then fitted to a very 
high condition in his ten- and twelve-year-old form 
for show. It is evident also that he had but slight 



266 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

opportunity. The Dillons sold him to Rush Co., 
Ind,, where he sired two purebred colts for J. T. 
McMillin, the president of the company that owned 
the horse.* These colts were foaled in 1888 and 
1889. R. B. Kellogg shipped some mares to be bred 
to Favora in May, 1888, and secured two colts. Fa- 
vora died on April 15, 1889, aged 21 years. 

Dillons in the Showring. — The Dillons were good 
advertisers and were appreciative of the value of 
showring exhibitions. They exhibited more gener- 
ally at the county and district fairs in Illinois than 
any other breeders of this period, and also made 
strong displays at the state fairs and Chicago horse 
shows. The extremely hot pace set by Mark W. 
Dunham, W. L. Ellwood, Leonard Johnson and H. A. 
Briggs shut the Dillons out of the prize-lists at the 
most important shows so far as stallions were con- 
cerned, but their mares won high honors in the 
strongest competition. Modesty G. 586 was their 
most noted show mare. She was first in the aged 
mare class at the Chicago show in 1887, and was 
also first for mare and two of her produce. She was 
not a regular breeder, and raised only 5 colts in 17 



*W. H. McMillin, Rushville, Ind., writing under date of May 12, 
1915, says: 

"Favora 1546 was owned by a company of men at Gings, Ind., 
of which my father, J. T. McMillin, was the president. . . . 
He got about 70 per cent of his mares in foal, but there were 
only 2 purebred mares in the county during the time he was used 
here. Favora was the greatest breeding horse ever used in Rush 
county. The mares at that time were small, ranging from ponies 
up, but the colts at four years weighed from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, 
and the shippers would buy every one they could get, even as 
three-year-olds. I think he was brought here in the spring of 
1882. He died April 15, 1889, at 21 years. He weighed over 2,200 
pounds while owned in Rush county and was tihe best draft horse 
I ever saw." 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 267 

years. Her daughters were prize-winners, however, 
and one, Lorilee G. 1532, was also a winner at the 
leading shows and proved to be a better breeder 
than her dam. Christiana 1586 was another splendid 
mare owned by the Dillons, a show and brood mare 
combined, and many of the best horses now in central 
Illinois trace to her. Allegra 4454 by Extrador 4525 
(386) was her greatest daughter; bred to Powerful 
6670 (7519) she produced Loretta P. 10285, an extra- 
ordinary brood mare. Christina P. 16608 was almost 
as great, and Capsheaf 16985 was one of the very 
good sires used in Illinois. Any one of these three 
would have been enough to blazon a mare 's name in 
history, and it is not surprising that Allegra 4454 
is generally considered the greatest mare Dillons 
ever bred, although her record was made in the hands 
of William Hurt. 

Mark W. Coad. — Mr. Coad, a wealthy ranchman 
with extensive interests in Nebraska, Wyoming, and 
other western states, stands fifth among the leading 
breeders of this period. He began in 1885 by import- 
ing 59 mares and 18 stallions, thereby inaugurating 
operations on an extended scale. He subsequently 
made a few other purchases from other leading im- 
porters and became very active in Percheron affairs 
in the west. The extent of his operations is shown 
by the fact that he bred between 1885 and 1890 40 
stallions and 32 mares, and still more in the next 
decade. 

Ranch and range conditions prevailed so far as the 
mares and growing colts were concerned, although 



268 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

he did halter-break and grain-feed the stallions in- 
tended for sale and the horses meant for the show- 
ring. The proportion of colts raised to mares owned 
was at this time about 25 per cent, the low increase 
evidently being due to acclimation troubles and 
losses among the foals. 

Mr. Coad was fortunate in importing a very good 
sire, Henri Le Blanc 4542 (2433), at the time he 
secured his mares. This horse did much good, but 
his owner obtained a much greater one in 1888 in 
Turc 6539, a stallion imported by W. L. Ellwood. 
This sire, a black with both hind pasterns and one 
front one white, was a son of Confident 3647 (397), 
he by Brilliant 1271 out of a daughter of Coco 2d. 
He was a large, massive horse, standing a fraction 
over 17 hands high and weighing over a ton. He was 
well-proportioned, stood well on his feet and legs, 
and was a clean-cut horse of excellent style and 
quality. As a sire, he proved to be extremely pre- 
potent and got big, rugged colts that weighed from 
1,700 to 1,900 pounds in ordinary field condition at 
three years of age. His colts were symmetrical, 
stood well on their underpinning and were almost 
invariably sound and clean. He remained in service 
at the head of Mr. Coad's stud for a number of years. 
His colts were so extremely good that James M. 
Fletcher bought two carloads of the stallions in 1897 
and considered them extra good, both as individuals 
and as breeders. They finished out as big, drafty 
horses, most of them weighing over a ton, and sired 
draft colts rugged and sound. 



THE GREAT EXPANSION OF THE '80 's 269 

Appoline 4778 (4003) was one of Mr. Goad's best 
mares. She was of showyard merit and he won sec- 
ond on her and her two colts at the Columbian Ex- 
position in 1893. She was not an especially regular 
breeder, producing only 7 colts in 14 years, but they 
were good. One, Starlight 17891, foaled in 1895 and 
sired by Turc, was second in a strong class of two- 
year-old stallions at the Chicago Horse Show in No- 
vember, 1897. Mirza 4759 (4050) was a good brood 
mare. One of her daughters. Vanity Fair 16568, 
won third in the two-year-old filly class at the Co- 
lumbian. Mirza was quite prolific, raising 7 colts in 
13 years, and they were above the average. Vail- 
lante 4787 (Loret 2453) was another mare of splen- 
did individuality. She was champion in 1888 and 
1889 at the Nebraska State Fair and was third at 
the Columbian in the sweepstakes class. She was a 
shy breeder, however, raising but 2 colts of record, 
one Diana 7537, foaled in 1887, and the other. Mon- 
arch 16670, foaled in 1892. Bijou 4780 (307) was 
another clinking good mare in Mr. Coad's stud. She 
was champion at the Nebraska State Fair in 1890, 
and was also a brood mare of more than average 
merit. She raised 8 colts in 10 years, 6 of them sired 
by Turc 6539 (10052), and they were good ones. 

Mr. Coad was keenly interested in his Percherons, 
and was a ready exhibitor at leading shows, al- 
though his home fair, Nebraska State, received chief 
attention. He was a heavy winner there in 1887, 
1888, 1889, 1890, 1891 and 1892 in both mare and 
stallion classes on meritorious stock. He did much 



270 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

to popularize Percherons in his territory and while 
most of the stallions he raised were sold direct to 
ranchmen for the improvement of range horses, he 
unquestionably did much good for draft horse and 
Percheron interests. His appreciation of a good sire 
led him to send some of his mares to the farm of 
C. S. Dole, Crystal Lake, 111., in 1890 where they 
were bred to the noted Fenelon 2682, a horse that 
was even then receiving recognition as a sire from 
constructive breeders. One of the colts which re- 
sulted, Malmaluke 16574, out of Lucette 4774 (3031), 
was later used to some extent in Mr. Goad's stud. 

A. Wickstrom, Wilcox, Neb., was one of the early 
purchasers of mares from Mr. Goad, obtaining some 
in 1888. William Ernst, Graf, Neb., was another 
who obtained some foundation females from Mr. 
Goad in 1886. William Hahn, Graf, Neb., also made 
a slight start from this stud. Mr. Goad sold mares 
to Mrs. J. E. Wilson, Minneapolis, Minn., in 1887, 
some of which were shipped by her to Oaklawn and 
bred to Brilliant 1271 with good results. Everything 
considered, however, the chief influence of Mr. 
Goad's work at this time was to popularize Perche- 
rons in his country, for he did not care to sell many 
of his mares and the vast majority of the stallions 
went to head bands of grade mares. The good thus 
accomplished is beyond calculation, for it raised the 
value of common stock fully 25 per cent by the first 
cross. 



CHAPTER X. 

OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE 
PERIOD. 

Hon. Thomas W. Palmer of Detroit, United States 
Senator from Michigan from 1883 to 1889, was an- 
other of the leading breeders of this period. He was 
very wealthy, having been prominently identified as 
a stockholder or director in numerous banks, fac- 
tories, and lake navigation companies. He had been 
a leader in politics, also, and was influential in state 
and national affairs. An able debater and a forceful 
speaker, his public utterances were commended 
widely for their clearness and the soundness of judg- 
ment which they expressed. Mr. Palmer engaged in 
Percheron breeding in 1883. He gradually increased 
his stud until by 1890 he had bred 28 stallions and 
38 mares. His foundation stock was purchased at 
Oaklawn Farm, but he imported 2 stallions and 7 
mares on his own account in 1883. He made another 
importation of mares in 1886. 

Log Cabin Farm. — Mr. Palmer had two farms, but 
his Percherons were kept on the Log Cabin Farm 
near Detroit — land that is now in parks and golf 
links. The place comprised about 500 acres of good 
land, well adapted to farming and pasturage. The 

271 



272 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

log cabin, one of Mr. Palmer's fancies from whicli 
the farm took its name, still stands in Palmer Park.* 

Mr. Palmer's duties in the business and political 
world made it impossible for him to give much per- 
sonal attention to his Percherons, and most of the 
details fell to his partner, E. W. Cottrell, and to 
George T. Van Norman, manager of Log Cabin Farm. 

An examination of the original inventory of Log 
Cabin FaiTQ, furnished through the courtesy of 
George N. Brady, executor of the estate, reveals the 
fact that approximately 90 mares of all ages were 
owned in the spring of 1892. Mr. Palmer had from 
40 to 50 mares in the stud during the latter part of 
the '80 's. The imported mares were shy breeders 
during the first few years and he did not raise over 
10 colts per year until 1889, when there were 12. In 
1890 27 were raised, and the mares bred more regu- 
larly from then on. 

Anchorite 1370 (863) was the first stallion used, 
being Mr. Palmer's chief stud sire until he acquired 



♦The following comment is from The Breeder's Gazette of 
June 11, 1913: 

"Senator Palmer was famed as the owner of the Log Cabin 
Farm on the outskirts of Detroit, a property which had been 
owned by his ancestors and which he purchased and improved 
with lavish hand. The log cabin home on the place cost more 
than $20,000. It is surrounded by a large wooded tract, and near 
it is an artificial lake. The interior decorations and furnishings 
of the cabin are in keeping with its pioneer aspect, and include 
relics and heirlooms of early days collected for many years. It 
has been made to look as much as possible like the primitive 
homes of the pioneers, although it includes all modern conveni- 
ences. 

"Near this cabin the senator had a stock farm of 500 acres, 
with a fine herd of Jerseys and a stud of Percherons. In this 
rustic home the senator entertained many distinguished guests 
with unique hospitality. There was no formality, and dinner was 
announced with an old tin dinner horn. Senator Palmer was said 
to have refused an offer of a million dollars for the property." 




E^ru Si^G'tsotn 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 273 

Fenelon. Ancliorite was a medium-sized horse 
weighing around 1,750 pounds; he was very symmet- 
rical, stylish, and of unusual quality. Sired by 
Romulus 873 (785), winner of first prize in the aged 
stallion class at the Universal Exhibition of Paris 
in 1878, Anchorite himself was a show horse and won 
first in the aged class for stallions under 1,800 pounds 
at the Percheron society show at Chicago in 1886. 
He was also a sire of merit. One of his daughters, 
Marie Antoinette 4882, out of a granddaughter of 
Vidocq 483 (732), won the gold medal offered by 
the Percheron Society of France at this same Chicago 
show for the best mare of any age bred in America. 
He sired medium-sized, symmetrical, sound stock of 
great quality and style. In fact, Anchorite's get 
proved just the kind of horses that were wanted in 
Michigan, w^here farmers did not take well to the 
large and massive type of drafters. 

Mr. Palmer exhibited quite extensively at the lead- 
ing shows. Anchorite was a consistent winner for 
him. Marie Antoinette, Loetitia 5198 (6495), and 
Rosa Bonheur 5100, imported in dam and sired by 
Bon Espoir (213), one of the best sons of Brilliant 
1899, were his leading mares. Marie Antoinette was 
quite a producer and bred until she was over 20 years 
of age. 

Mr, Palmer's influence was much greater than is 
indicated by the number and character of the colts he 
raised. His business ability, his sagacity, and his 
political standing all gave weight to his activities in 
behalf of the Percheron. He was elected first presi- 



274 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

dent of the American Percheron Horse Breeders ' As- 
sociation, which was incorporated on Nov. 10, 1885, 
succeeding the voluntary association known as the 
Percheron Horse Breeders' Association of America, 
organized in 1876 with Daniel Dunham as president. 
Mr. Palmer served the association in the capacity of 
president with great ability for more than a decade. 
He was an enthusiastic supporter of the breed and 
encouraged the American breeder in every possible 
way. 

Edgewood Farm. — Dr. Winter's operations, 
already referred to, were steadily continued during 
this period. While the number of horses which he 
bred and raised was not large, they were of good type 
and quality, although some were not of popular 
colors. He had from 20 to 25 mares of all ages. He 
raised only 3 colts in 1882, but the number gradually 
increased until in 1890 he recorded 11 of his own 
breeding. In all he produced 39 stallions and 27 
mares during this decade. 

Malbranche 293 was continued in the stud, but was 
not much used. La Force 249, imported in 1874 by 
the Princeton Horse Company, and Bernadotte 36, 
foaled in 1875, the first Percheron ever bred by Dr. 
Winter, were the chief sires in the stud. Valiant 473, 
a good horse imported by N. C. Buswell, and Salva- 
tor 4293 (701), imported in 1883 by Mark W. Dun- 
ham, were also used to some extent. Messidor 3753 
(685), imported in 1885 by Mr. Dunham, later was 
bought by Dr. Winter and sired a few purebred colts 
in his stud. In 1886 Dr. Winter sent Agnes 4727 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 275 

to Oaklawn and had her bred to Brilliant 1271. To 
this mating she produced in 1887 a very good colt 
recorded as Brilliant A. 9998 and extensively used at 
a later date. 

La Force apparently did as much good as any 
horse used at this time. About 16.2 hands high, he 
weighed around 1,800 pounds and was extremely 
handsome, round-bodied, and smoothly turned. He 
was solid black in color. Bernadotte was a compact 
horse, but hardly as blocky and massve as La Force. 
He left some excellent colts, but on account of his 
close relationship to most of Dr. Winter's mares he 
was not available for general use. 

Aimee 520 was one of the best brood mares, and 
an unusually prolific one. She raised 14 colts in 17 
years, beginning when she was 3 years of age. Two 
of her daughters, Olga 21851 and Prudance 21853, 
were also regular producers, one raising 7 and the 
other 8 colts in 9 years, showing that the tendency to 
regular reproduction is inherited in some instances 
at least. Aimee made her record while in Dr. Win- 
ter's ownership, and her daughters made theirs while 
owned by John C Baker. Florence 2403 was another 
good brood mare, long-lived and a regular breeder. 
Jeanne 560 was another of the same kind; her colts 
were exceptionally good, the first being Bernadotte. 
Julie 568, Jeanne's second colt, was one of the doc- 
tor's best brood mares, raising 11 colts in 13 years. 

While Edgewood Farm exhibited to some extent 
at local shows, not much showing was done and the 
larger fairs do not reveal a record of winnings by 



276 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

this farm. Dr. Winter was not an aggressive adver- 
tiser — and confined himself strictly to farming and 
breeding. He bred some very good stock, but in all 
fairness it must be said that he was not an especially 
good care-taker. Much of his stock would have been 
better off had it seen more feed. 

I. L. Hoover, of Clinton, Wis., bought a number 
of Percherons from Edgewood Farm in the '80 's. 
J. F. Campbell bought Charlotte 5320, and she proved 
a regular producer, raising 9 colts in the 12 years 
from 1889 to 1900, beginning in her three-year-old 
form. Jeannette 4730 went to the stud of Alexander 
Miller, De Voe, S. D. These were the chief pur- 
chasers during this period. 

John W. Akin. — John W. Akin, Scipio, N. Y., 
was the only prominent Percheron importer and 
breeder in the Empire State. At the start he bought a 
few at Oaklawn Farm. In 1883 he made an importa- 
tion of 25 stallions and 14 mares. In 1884 he brought 
over 28 stallions and 23 mares, and he made some 
other importations in 1887 and later. Most of the 
mares he retained and engaged in Percheron breed- 
ing. The results at the outset were none too encour- 
aging. In 1884 Mr. Akin raised 1 colt, in 1885 3, 
in 1886 7, in 1887 8, in 1888 8, in 1889 16, in 1890 21. 
From 1888 to 1890 he had about 40 mares of produc- 
ing age. A review of their produce records reveals 
few that would classify as brood mares. They were 
shy breeders, especially for the first few years after 
importation. 

Men familiar with the stock in the Akin stud 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 277 

consider it as rather too small and too lacking in 
real draft character to have exerted any material 
influence on the breed. Mr. Akin is to be considered 
as a responsible breeder who did much to popularize 
Percherons in New York in an early day by distribut- 
ing horses that worked some improvement on the 
light native stock of the state. So far as influence on 
Percheron breeding in America is concerned, the 
operations in this stud are practically valueless. A 
few animals were bred during the '90 's, but the 
beginning and end of this farm's influence has 
already been considered, and the stud will not come 
up for further discussion. 

Minnesota Breeders. — Illinois contributed 8 of the 
20 leading breeders of this epoch, but Minnesota 
stands second with 3 among the first 20. It is safe 
to say that there were more high-class Percheron 
breeding establishments in Minnesota in the '80 's 
than in any other state except Illinois. The breeders 
who brought the state to the front were Leonard 
Johnson, The Minnesota Percheron Horse Company, 
and George E. Case. They stood eleventh, fifteenth, 
and nineteenth respectively in number of Percherons 
bred in America during the period under discussion 
and the dispersion of their studs in the '90 's was 
deeply regretted. 

Leonard Johnson. — ^No finer-tempered or more 
honorable breeder of Percheron horses than Leonard 
Johnson ever lived, and there have been few who 
were his equals in judgment. He began about 1877 
or 1878 as a buyer for Mark W. Dunham in France. 



278 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

He was as honest as the day is long, modest, and 
courteous in his speech and manner. His personality 
soon acquired for him the confidence and close 
friendship of the leading breeders in France — M. 
Fardouet, Pere Caget, Ernest Perriot, Sr., the 
Tacheaus, and the Avelines. He was an idealist in 
judgment — ever looking for the perfect horse — and 
he never asked to see any but the best. His estimate 
of the real stock horses, the sires, is amply shown 
by the fact that he bought for Mr. Dunham many 
of the great sires which made Oaklawn famous. His 
first purchases were made in company with Mr. Dun- 
ham; his later operations were on his own responsi- 
bility. It is no reflection on Mark W. Dunham to 
say here that Deonard Johnson was a far better judge 
of breeding horses than was the master of Oaklawn. 
It has ever been characteristic of great leaders to 
surround themselves with men who are skilled be- 
yond themselves in certain lines, and in no one thing 
did Mr. Dunham show keener judgment than in his 
selection of trusted lieutenants, of whom Leonard 
Johnson was one of the first. 

Founding Maple Point Stud. — Mr. Johnson really 
began in 1874 by purchasing imp. Magnus 290, a 
rather massive horse for that time, weighing about 
2,000 pounds. In 1875 he bought Superior 454 (730) 
and Vidocq 483 (732). Vidocq was subsequently re- 
sold to Mr. Dunham and was used at the head of the 
Oaklawn stud for several years. He has already 
been described. Superior stood about 16.2 hands 
high and weighed between 1,800 and 1,900 pounds in 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 279 

breeding condition. He was foaled in 1868 and im- 
ported in 1874. He was white at the time of his im- 
portation, and a symmetrical, stylish horse of great 
quality and finish, with extraordinary action. As a 
sire he was one of the best and undoubtedly ranks 
as one of the greatest sons of Favori 1st (711), the 
foundation sire of the Favori strain. 

It was Mr. Johnson's keen judgment and integrity 
that led to his employment by Mr. Dunham as his 
buyer in France. While thus engaged he from time 
to time selected some of the horses that especially 
suited his ideas, and by arrangement with Mr. Dun- 
ham he shipped these to Maple Point Farm. Owing 
to his limited means Mr. Johnson's first selections 
were stallions, which were soon sold; but he also se- 
lected a few mares, which he retained. The first 
Percheron of his own breeding was foaled in 1881, 
and the number gradually increased until by 1890 he 
had raised 26 stallions and an equal number of 
mares. 

Leading Sires Used. — It is doubtful whether any 
stud in America ever had such a group of really 
great sires as was owned at Maple Point in the '80 's. 
Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson did not have a large 
band of mares, nor did he have the means to retain 
his great stock horses. These stallions were sold 
after he had used them for a short time and many, 
like Brilliant 1899, went into communities in which 
they were lost to the breed, though they did do won- 
ders in improving the grade stock. 

Brilliant 1899, whose history has already been 



280 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERO'N HOESE 

sketched, and Cheer 2017 (1404) were the two good 
sires obtained by Mr. Johnson in 1881. Cheer was a 
nice-turned, medium-sized horse weighing about 
1,750, but a very good sire. Each of these sired 3 
Percheron colts before being sold from Maple Point. 
In 1883 Mr. Johnson obtained La Grange 3065 (1334) 
and Baptiste 3064* (41), both clinking good horses 
as individuals and as sires. La Grange was foaled 
in 1880 and imported in 1883. He was a winner at 
the leading shows in France and was the best horse 
which Tacheau had in '83. He was sired by Brilliant 
1271 out of a daughter of Coco 2d (714). A gray of 
excellent conformation, style, and quality, he was a 
show horse of the top kind. He left but one colt at 
Maple Point before he was sold to F. J. Shoe, of Shoe, 
Minn., after which he was used on grade mares. 

Baptiste was a horse of much the same type as 
La Grange, and a winner abroad. He was a gray 
two-year-old when imported. He was sired by a son 
of Vidocq 483 out of a granddaughter of Superior 
454, both of which sires had been used at Maple 
Point. Baptiste was a compact, massive horse, 
standing about 16.3 hands high and weighing about 
a ton. He was a horse of wonderful finish. He was 
sold by Mr. Johnson to William Mies & Sons, of 
Hampton, Minn., at an early date. He left only one 
colt at Maple Point, but he sired 28 purebreds for 
Mies & Sons, 5 for Thomas Irvine, and 7 for G. S. 
Horton. He was used extensively on grade mares 
also and has contributed materially to Percheron im- 
provement in Minnesota. He won first in the four- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 281 

year-old class at the Minnesota State Fair in 1885 for 
Mr. Johnson, and was first in the aged stallion class 
in 1886 for William Mies & Sons. 

Jupiter 4301 (2243), foaled in 1882 and imported 
in 1885, was the next high-class sire obtained. A 
dark gray, about 16.3 hands high, and weighing from 
1,900 to 2,000 pounds, he was massive, drafty sort 
with a great deal of symmetry and finish. He was 
distinctly in-bred, as he was begot by a son of Bril- 
liant 1899 out of a daughter of Brilliant 1899. He 
sired 4 colts for Mr. Johnson before he was sold 
to William & James Warden, of Frankfort, S. D. In 
the hands of the Wardens he was used on some 
Percheron mares, leaving 12 purebred colts, but his 
chief service was on grade mares. 

Not content with anything less than the closest 
possible approach to ideal Percheron type, Mr. John- 
son bought in 1886 two of the greatest sons of Bril- 
liant 1271— Briard 5317 (1630) and Gilbert 5154 
(461). Briard was a rugged, big horse, which stood 
about 17 hands high and weighed a little over a 
ton. Nicely balanced, with two good ends and a 
middle, he was a heavy-boned and heavy-muscled 
horse, but lacked a little in finish. He sired some ex- 
cellent stock, built after his own pattern. Mr. John- 
son paid M. W. Dunham $5,000 for Briard and after 
a season's use sold him to Hon. R. W. Daniels, of 
Buffalo, N. Y., for $4,500. He was used on the ranch 
at Kelso, N. D., owned by Daniels & Winsor. He 
sired only 3 colts at Maple Point, but left 11 other 
purebreds in North Dakota. Colts sired by him in 



282 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

France were prominent winners, and he is rated as 
one of the three best sons of Brilliant 1271, individu- 
ality and the prepotency of his descendants con- 
sidered. 

Gilbert was also sired by Brilliant 1271, and every- 
thing considered was probably the greatest show 
horse the old sire ever begot. He was a winner in 
France and took first in the four-year-old class 
for stallions over 1,750 pounds at the great Percheron 
Society show at Chicago in 1886. He was first again 
in 1887 at the horse show at Chicago, and second at 
the same show in 1888, being beaten by La Ferte 5144 
(452). Again in 1889 he was second, this time to 
Fenelon 2682 (38), and in 1890 he was second at 
the same show to Seducteur 8850 (7057). Gil- 
bert was not shown in 1891 or 1892, but came out in 
1893, when 11 years old and after 7 years of stud 
service, and won third at the Columbian Exposition 
in the face of strong competition. No other horse 
of the breed has a showyard record excelling this, 
and it is doubtful whether any can equal it. 

Gilbert was about 16.2 hands high and weighed 
around a ton in show condition. He was a remark- 
ably well-balanced horse, symmetrical throughout, 
with great style and finish and the best of underpin- 
ning. He was a whirlwind in action, and remained 
sound and clean to the end of his days. 

As a sire it must be admitted frankly that he was 
not the best of the sons of Brilliant 1271. He got 
some very good animals, but his colts lacked uniform- 
ity in type and in color and some were very disap- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 283 

pointing. His best descendants come from the cross 
of Gilbert or his sons on daughters or granddaught- 
ers of Briard ; he furnished the quality and finish to 
sweeten up the Briard stock. He sired 89 colts in 
America, most of which were bred by Leonard John- 
son and the subsequent owner of the stallion, Alex- 
ander Miller. 

Leopold 7011 (6221), foaled in 1885 and imported 
as a two-year-old, was another good colt, a large, 
heavy-boned, rugged draft horse of good lines and 
a fetching way of going. He was sired by Voltaire 
3540 (443), one of the three best sons of Brilliant 
1271, out of a granddaughter of Favori 1st. He came 
from Ernest Perriot and sired 7 colts of record while 
at Maple Point. 

Tripoli 11110 (20034) was the last of the great 
group of sires used by Mr. Johnson during this peri- 
od. He was probably the best colt that Gilbert ever 
sired, being out of a daughter of Brilliant 1899. A 
black standing about 16.2 hands high and weighing 
around a ton in show condition, he was a winner in 
France and took first as a three-year-old at the Chi- 
cago show in 1890. He was much like Gilbert in 
type, but far excelled him as a sire, his colts being 
uniformly good in type and color. He subsequently 
headed the Upson Farm stud in North Dakota. 

A review of the sires used at Maple Point shows 
that Mr. Johnson's judgment was of the best. It is 
doubtful whether any stud in this country ever 
owned so many high-class sires in so short a time. 
Certainly no establishment in America has ever 



284 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

owned so many good ones in proportion to the total 
number in the stud. 

The Johnson Mares. — In his selection of mares Mr. 
Johnson was no less an idealist than in choosing his 
stallions. His means were limited so that he could 
not own many, but those he did have were the best 
he could find. All the colts which he raised during 
this period were out of about 18 or 20 matrons. 
Many were show mares, and brood mares as well. 

Honest Lady 2015 (2779) was one of the best. She 
was first at the Minnesota State Fair in 1885 and 
again took the honors in 1887 on mare and her prod- 
uce. She was a regular breeder, raising 6 colts in 
7 years in the Maple Point stud, and good ones at 
that. Mouvette 6176 (636) was second in the two- 
year-old class at the Minnesota fair. She later went 
to the stud of R. B. Kellogg where she produced 2 
colts, and then was sold to D. Wittenberg, Cedar- 
burg, Wis., for whom she raised two more. 

Sada 3060, bred by Mr. Johnson, was first in the 
four-year-old class at Minnesota in 1887. She did not 
raise many colts. Messagere 5129 (6762) was first in 
the three-year-old class at the same state fair show. 
She was an irregular breeder, but raised some good 
colts. Clodie 5140 (7253) was second in the two-year- 
old class at the same show and proved a brood mare 
of worth. She was the most regular breeder in the 
stud, except Honest Lady. Coquette 6710 (581) was 
first among the aged mares in 1889. She raised only 
2 colts — Atlantic 11858, sired by Seducteur, and 
Bertine 11337, a gray mare, sired by Gilbert. Atlan- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 285 

tic left no purebred progeny and Bertine had only 
2 colts. Elise 9675 (12262) stood first for Maple 
Point at the Minnesota fair of 1889 and Gretchen 
4649, bred by Rufus B. Kellogg, won second for the 
Johnson stable. Gretchen was a regular producer 
of good colts but Elise raised only 3. 

As a whole Mr. Johnson's females were excep- 
tional brood mares, producing high-class progeny, 
though the percentage of colts raised was dishearten- 
ing. 

Showyard Record. — Mr. Johnson was an enthusi- 
astic exhibitor from the outset. He was the heaviest 
winner at the Minnesota State Fair at the beginning 
and he continued his lead despite strong competition, 
although T. L. & J. L. DeLancey bested him in the 
later '80 's. He captured a fair share of the prizes 
at the leading shows of that period which were an- 
nually held at Chicago. It is probable that no prize 
ever gave him keener pleasure than winning the gold 
medal offered by the Societe Hippique de Percher- 
onne in 1886 at the Percheron Society show in Chi- 
cago for the best stallion bred in America. At this 
show, the greatest held in the '80 's, with more than 
300 Percherons in the competition, Mr. Johnson won 
the coveted medal on Eclipse 3066, a colt of his own 
breeding, sired by Leman 1954 (1055) out of Sella 
2012. This was a gray of good type and size, after- 
ward used in the stud of J. L. LaValley, McCauley- 
ville, Minn., where he sired some 18 purebred colts. 
Mr. Johnson showed many colts of his own breeding 
and with good results. 



286 A l-lSTOliY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Leonard Johnson's was the most potent influence 
of the '80 's in the development of Percheron inter- 
ests in the northwestern states. His high character 
and agreeable personality made him liked by all who 
knew him, and his remarkable judgment of Perche- 
rons made his fair winnings of the utmost value as 
object lessons to less well-informed breeders and 
farmers. He would not handle inferior stock, and 
was always willing to pay a long price for horses 
which he considered "true gold." 

Minnesota Percheron Horse Compajiy. — Controlled 
by the Payne Lumber Company of the Twin Cities, 
the Minnesota Percheron Horse Company became 
one of the important Percheron establishments of 
the state. The stud was founded in 1886 by the pur- 
chase of a carload of W. L. Ellwood's best mares. 
Later purchases were made from the Ellwood stud 
in 1888 and '89. The firm had extensive land inter- 
ests at Cazenovia and was wealthy. The best were 
none too good, and its purchases were high-class as 
to individuality. 

Exact data as to the number of mares owned are 
not obtainable, but the firm owned at least 30 mares 
by 1888 and about 50 mares by 1890. Twenty-five 
stallions and 21 mares of the company's breeding, 
foaled from 1887 to 1890, are on record, and none of 
the dams was to be classed as a regular breeder. 

Niger 4986 (2951) was the chief sire. He was 
imported in 1886 by Mr. Ellwood and was in the 
first lot bought by the Paynes. Picador 3d 5078 
(4815), imported in 1886, was also taken to Cazen- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 287 

ovia at the same time. Niger was a black son of 
Picador 2d (5606) and was much like his illustrious 
grandsire, Picador 1st (7330), the foundation sire 
of the strain bearing his name. A massive, drafty 
horse weighing around a ton, Niger had a great deal 
of quality and finish. His colts were excellent and he 
was long at the head of the stud. The stud continued 
throughout the next decade in spite of hard times, 
but inasmuch as it was only well started by 1890 
a more exhaustive consideration of its work will be 
taken up in another chapter. 

George E. Case. — ^At St. Peter, Minn., George E. 
Case, a merchant, established a Percheron stud by 
direct importations from France, His ranked among 
the first 20 breeding establishments of America by 
1890. He imported 28 mares in 1883, '84, and '85, 
and some 35 stallions. Most of the mares were re- 
tained for his own use and by 1890 he had raised 
some 16 stallions and 19 mares of his own breeding. 
At the same time he continued his importations and 
was actively engaged in the sale of stallions. As a di- 
rector of the American Percheron Horse Breeders' 
Association he was very influential in spreading the 
gospel of better blood for draft horse improvement in 
the northwest. 

Margot 3033 (1341) and Sandi 3803 (444) were the 
first two sires used by Mr. Case, but they left very 
few colts. Sandi was a good type, a thick and mas- 
sive gray with a deal of quality. He was sired by 
Brilliant 1271 out of a daughter of Coco 2d. Not 
being imported until past four years of age, he left a 



288 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

number of good colts in France, some of which were 
brought over during the '80 's by the leading im- 
porters of that period. Sandi was sold shortly after 
importation and then had access to grades only, until 
1889, when he did sire one more purebred colt. 

Senegal 8456 (8092) was the most important sire 
used in the Case stud. He was a gray sired by 
Voltaire 3540 (443) out of a daughter of Favori 1st 
and proved a horse of great merit, both individually 
and as a sire. He was not imported until 1887 and 
was not used long, but his colts were good. 

Mr. Case won a number of prizes in 1885 at the 
Minnesota State Fair, but did not exhibit very ex- 
tensively afterward. He was not as keen a judge 
as Leonard Johnson or T. L. & J. L. DeLancey, and 
consequently was less well equipped with the mate- 
rial necessary for strong campaigns. His Percherons 
were a good useful sort, however, and being above 
the average in merit did much good. 

The gathering financial storm which wrecked so 
many good establishments drove Mr. Case to disperse 
his stud about 1892. The mares were scattered wide- 
ly into the hands of small farmers. There are de- 
scendants of this stock around St. Peter and St. 
Cloud in Minnesota, but for the most part they were 
lost to the purebred industry. 

Wisconsin's Leaders. — Capt. Fred Pabst and Ru- 
fus B. Kellogg were Wisconsin's representatives 
among the first 20 breeders of this epoch ; they occu- 
pied tenth and twelfth places respectively in the 
number of Percherons bred and raised in their own 




; cJ. EWils6n~i ^ [ c/as. D.Bechett' \ 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 289 

studs. Both were men of wealth and business ability, 
well educated and widely travelled, and their influ- 
ence was unquestionably large in favorably shaping 
Wisconsin's sentiment toward Percherons. 

Wauwatosa Farm. — The Wauwatosa stud, estab- 
lished by Fred Pabst in 1885, was started with the 
stallion Burg 4444 (2241) and 29 mares imported di- 
rect from France. In 1886 Mr. Pabst imported 26 
more mares. Other stallions were imported each 
year, but Burg remained at the head of the stud and 
his leadership was never threatened. 

Mr. Pabst in his first catalog, issued in 1890, gives 
his reasons for establishing a Percheron stud as fol- 
lows: 

"It is a well-known fact that I did not go into the 
business of raising horses as a mere money specula- 
tion. I did it because I thought I could advance a 
great interest in our state. It is universally admitted 
that the majority of the best Clydesdales imported to 
this country have for years been brought direct to 
the state of Wisconsin, but many of our people pre- 
ferred the Percherons, and were going into neighbor- 
ing states to procure them, because they there found 
better ones than could be found at home. 

' ' I take a pride in the state in which I live and in 
which all my interests lie, and I determined that I 
would breed right here in our own state as good, 
or better, Percherons than could be found elsewhere, 
and to this purpose, I, in 1885, sent a man of expe- 
rience to France with instructions to buy a herd of 
mares, the best to be found in that country, irre- 
spective of prices. These mares were bought at 
prices that ordinary importers, who buy to sell again, 
could not afford to pay. They were brood mares, 



290 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

whose owners were not looking for buyers and who 
could only be persuaded to part with them for long 
prices. ' ' 

These importations gave Mr. Pabst more than 50 
inares of producing age from 1886 on. He raised 17 
colts in 1887, 20 in 1888, 13 in 1889, and 10 in 1890— 
a total of 27 stallions and 23 mares. Some trouble 
must have been encountered, as a review of Mr. 
Pabst 's records shows that he had 51 mares of pro- 
ducing age in 1890 and yet raised only 10 colts. In the 
absence of specific data it must be concluded that 
abortion entered the stud; a large number of his 
most reliable brood mares missed foaling in 1889 and 
1890, as is definitely shown by the records. 

Burg, Vigoreux 9218 (5615), Voltaire 5316 (2221), 
and Prince Jerome 4445 (480) were the chief sires in 
service, although some 16 or 18 other horses were 
used to a slight extent at various times. Burg was 
the leading sire and remained at the head of the 
stud from 1885, when it was founded, until 1890. In 
that year he was sold to J. B. Johnson of Montford, 
Wis. 

As an individual Burg was of showyard caliber. 
He was a rather blocky, massive type, with excep- 
tionally heavy bone and a good deal of quality. He 
was quite well proportioned, stylish, of all-around 
draft qualities, and weighed over a ton. He won first 
as a two-year-old at the annual show held by the 
Societe Hippique de Percheronne in France in 1884. 
He was not shown to any great extent in America, 
but was first in the class for stallion and five of his 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 291 

get at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1888, and won in 
the same class at the International Exposition at 
Buffalo in 1889. In many respects he was much on 
the type of Brilliant 1271. He was sired by Bocham- 
beati (1382), a half-brother to Brilliant 1271, by Bril- 
liant 1899. The colts sired by Burg were uniform in 
type, chiefly blacks and grays, and were of the 
massive draft pattern, although a bit more blocky 
and low-set than some breeders liked. 

Vigoreux, a massive black sired by Picador 2d, 
by Picador 1st, was the next sire in rank. Imported 
by Mr. Dunham, from whom Capt. Pabst obtained 
him, he was a very good sort, of the rugged, mas- 
sive pattern. Voltaire, a good gray of the Favori 
stock, and Prince Jerome, tracing to the same horse 
through his sire, and out of a daughter of Coco 2d, 
were also good stock-getters and left some good colts 
at Wauwatosa Stock Farm. 

Couronne 4440 (1908) was sufficiently good as a 
brood mare to cause Mr. Pabst to use 3 of her sons 
to some degree in the stud. They were by Burg. 
She produced 4 colts in 5 years, every one a stallion 
of merit. Favorite 4436 (4296), Coquette 4433 (4295) 
and Julie 4423 (4257) were other good brood mares, 
producers of colts that were winners at the Wiscon- 
sin State Fair and that sold at excellent prices. 
None of them was noted for the number of colts 
produced, however, the mares being mostly shy 
breeders. Eustique 5403 (2217) was the only really 
prolific mare in the lot. Relatively few mares were 
sold from this farm in the period under discussion. 



292 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The distribution of these Percherons will be con- 
sidered later. 

Kellogg Stock Farm. — Eufus B. Kellogg, Green 
Bay, Wis., was a wealthy banker and land-owner, a 
man of education and character. He, like Mr. Pabst, 
recognized the need of more and better breeding 
stock for Wisconsin farmers. He had a real interest 
in his horses and studied bloodlines and the results 
of various matings with a keen and analytical mind. 
His success would probably have been greater had 
he been a more competent judge, though his career 
was cut short by death at so early a date — Septem- 
ber, 1891, — that it is unfair to draw general con- 
clusions. He was taken away at just about the time 
when the results of his work were becoming sufift- 
ciently apparent to permit of the elimination of the 
unreliable breeding stock. His farm consisted of 
600 acres located near Green Bay. On part of it the 
town of DePere now stands. The land in this section 
is rather rolling but affords excellent pasturage. 

Mr. Kellogg 's stud was founded in 1881 by the 
purchase of Chevalier Bayard 1279 and Zoe 840 
from M. W. Dunham. He subsequently made some 
importations of his own. In 1882 he brought over 3 
stallions and 12 mares, and in 1885 6 stallions and 9 
mares. Still other importations were made at later 
dates. 

Mr. Kellogg 's inventories show that he owned in 
1886 47 Percherons valued at $27,850, an average of 
$592 each; in 1887 68 Percherons valued at $39,150, 
an average of $575, and in 1890 76 Percherons valued 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 293 

at $32,700, an average of $430. The lowering of the 
average value was due to the fact that more young 
horses were included in the later inventories and to 
the depreciation of all classes of live stock. The 
low spot was reached in 1893 and '94, but the de- 
pression was evident in 1890. 

The records in the Percheron Society of America 
offices show that Mr. Kellogg had between 30 and 
40 mares by 1890, and that he raised 24 stallions 
and 28 mares of his own breeding between 1883 and 
1890. Many of his mares were not imported until 
1887, but the mares brought over in 1882 and 1884 
were his chief reliance. 

The Kellogg Stallions. — Chevalier Bayard was the 
first sire used. He left 3 fillies, but no stallions. 
Waterloo 2199 (733), foaled in 1870, was imported 
in 1882 by Mr. Kellogg. He was a noted stock horse 
in France and had left excellent progeny. He had 
been used too heavily before Mr. Kellogg obtained 
him, however, and so did little after importation, 
though he begot 2 stallions and 5 mares at the Kel- 
logg Farm stud. 

In 1883 Mr. Kellogg bought Fenelon 2682, a horse 
that history has stamped as one of the three greatest 
sons of Brilliant 1271. He had been imported that 
same year and because of acclimation troubles 
proved a non-breeder during the season, failing to 
settle a single mare. Mr. Kellogg already had been 
subjected to loss because Waterloo was not a sure 
breeder, and consequently he returned Fenelon to 
Mr. Dunham without further trial. From the first 



294 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

he had given much attention to the breeding of the 
best horses in France and America and he was of 
the opinion that a sire with a known record as a 
getter was decidedly better than a young one. His 
purchase of Waterloo had been guided by this con- 
sideration. The age of the horse and the fact that 
he proved after importation to be a shy breeder 
troubled Mr. Kellogg. Fenelon's failure set him back 
again and he was forced to look further for a sire. 
Brilliant's success in Oaklawn stud caused him to 
look for a horse of somewhat similar breeding, and 
he finally purchased Narbonne 1334 (777) in 1885. 
This horse was foaled in 1876 and had been imported 
in 1881 by M. W. Dunham, who sold him to J. Barnes 
& Co., Shannon, 111. Mr. Kellogg had learned that 
Narbonne had sired many good things in France and 
that many of the animals imported in 1882 and 1883 
were by him. He also ascertained that Narbonne was 
sired by Brilliant 1899 out of a daughter of Favori 
1st, and he liked the colts sired at Shannon. Ac- 
cordingly Narbonne was purchased as an eight-year- 
old in 1884. He sired 5 stallions and 3 mares for 
Mr. Kellogg. No information is obtainable as to his 
final disposition, but from the fact that he sired colts 
at the Kellogg Stock Farm in 1884, '85, and '86 it 
must be concluded that Narbonne, like Waterloo, 
had seen too much service before Mr, Kellogg se- 
cured him. 

Non Pareil 7248 (sans Pareil 6870) was imported 
by Mr. Kellogg in 1887. He was a gray grandson 
of Romulus 873 (785), the first-prize aged horse at 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 295 

the Universal Exposition at Paris in 1878, and out 
of a granddaugliter of M. Dupont's Favori. He was 
used to some extent in 1887 and 1888, but did not 
leave many colts. Two or three other sires that do 
not appear to have been of any importance were 
used about 1888 and 1889, but in 1890 Mr. Kellogg 
secured the horse which practically made the repu- 
tation of his stud — Baccarat 11326 ( 18639 ) . 

Baccarat was foaled in 1887. He won in France 
in 1889 and was imported in that year by W. L. 
Ellwood. He won second in the three-year-old class 
at the Chicago Horse Show in 1890 for Mr. Kellogg, 
who bought him at a price reported to have been 
the highest ever paid for a Percheron stallion up to 
that time. He proved good from the outset. He 
was used in 1890 and '91 and sired 16 stallions and 
8 mares of record. Mr. Kellogg 's death on Sept. 24, 
1891, was exceedingly unfortunate; he was only 53 
years old and was just developing his Percheron 
breeding operations to a point where real progress 
could be made. He raised 19 colts of his own breed- 
ing in 1891 and 15 more in 1892. 

Noted Mares. — Mr. Kellogg had no inclination to 
act as a dealer in horses and his selections were made 
for his own stud. He sought mares of size, draft 
type and quality, and was insistent upon uniformity. 
Among the mares he imported were some which he 
had selected because of their records as brood mares 
in France. Bijou 4668 (4644) was one of these. She 
was the dam of Childebert 4283 (451), by Brilliant 
1271, one of the very good horses imported in 1885, 



296 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

as well as of other good ones. She produced only 2 
colts for Mr. Kellogg, but they were winners. Ben 
Boalt 4746, her first colt for Mr. Kellogg, took honors 
in the leading shows in America and Fenelon 2d 
7007, her second, was also of showyard character. 
Glorieuse 5226 (5970) was another good mare. She 
won second in the class for four-year-olds under 
1,750 pounds at the Percheron Society show in 1886, 
and was a consistent brood mare, raising 5 good colts 
in 7 years. Mr. Kellogg also bought Lorilee G. 1532, 
one of the most noted show and brood mares of the 
Dillons. Mignonette 7264 (5729) was another good 
mare, and a regular producer. The mare Tontine 
13129 (Bijou 21677) was valued very highly by Mr. 
Kellogg, although she had produced nothing prior to 
his death. She subsequently became a valuable 
brood mare. 

Mr. Kellogg was a progressive breeder and appre- 
ciated the value of showyard exhibitions from edu- 
cational and advertising points of view. Most of his 
winnings were made at the Minnesota and Wisconsin 
state fairs, although he showed a few at Chicago. 
One of his leading contemporaries says of him: 

"He exhibited mares of uniform kind and his ani- 
mals were generally commendable for draft type, 
symmetry, quality, and soundness. Personally Mr. 
Kellogg was a gentleman, thoroughly reliable in 
word and act, and at all times courteous and honor- 
able. He was a breeder of the highest type and ex- 
erted a profound influence on Percheron affairs in 
his time." 

Influence on Other Studs. — At Mr, Kellogg 's death 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 297 

most of his horses went to H. F. Hagemeister, of 
Green Bay, who bought them from the estate about 
1895 or '96. Nicholas Schmidt, Wrightstown, Wis., 
bought some from Mr. Kellogg in 1890. William H. 
Shaw, Belvidere, 111., was another buyer. Newton 
Rector, Circleville, 0., made purchases from Mr. Kel- 
logg in 1891, and Jesse M. Stetson bought some from 
the estate. Fearnaught 16302, bred by Mr. Kellogg, 
sired by Baccarat out of Fashion 7263 (9179), went 
to head Mr. Stetson's stable and sired some extra 
good mares, though his stallion colts were not of such 
a high average. This tendency on the part of sires 
to get better animals of one sex than of the other 
has often been noticed by breeders of all classes of 
stock. Fearnaught was distinctly a sire of mares. 

D. G. McKay, Chippewa Falls, Wis., was another 
purchaser of horses from Mr. Kellogg in 1891, and 
B. F. Clark, Eureka, Wis., also bought some in the 
same year. Thomas Wishart, DePere, Wis., and 
E. C. Clark, Cadott, Wis., were other buyers. Mr. 
Hagemeister obtained most of the animals, however, 
purchasing 68 head of stallions, mares and colts. He 
also secured Baccarat and retained him until 1906, 
when he was sold, still vigorous at 19 years of age. 

Mr. Kellogg 's work as a Percheron breeder has 
been far-reaching. He sought good animals, placing 
special emphasis on underpinning and soundness. 
He was one of the earliest American breeders to 
appreciate the value of tried sires and dams, and 
emphasized at all times the importance of accurate 
and careful breeding. His integrity, courtesy and 



298 . A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

broad spirit in reviewing liis own or liis contem- 
poraries' work made him one of the most construc- 
tive breeders of his time. Percheron interests in 
America suffered a very great loss in his deatii just 
when he was on the threshold of achievement. 

Reserve Forces in Illinois. — Illinois had a total of 
203 breeders in the epoch under consideration and 8 
out of the first 20 breeders in the United States re- 
sided there. The work of the leaders has already 
been discussed, but there were others of almost equal 
prominence who must be considered. 

E. Stetson & Sons, of Neponset, 111., with 63 head, 
Degen Bros., of Ottawa, 111., with 50 head, George S. 
Hanna of Bloomington, 111., with 48 head, and E 
Hodgson, of Ottawa, 111., with 40 head, all recorded 
as bred by the parties named, stood ninth, thirteenth, 
and eighteenth respectively among the first 20 breed- 
ers of this epoch. 

Stetson & Sons. — Ezra Stetson, Neponset, 111., be- 
came interested in Percheron s at a very early date. 
He owned a good farm, had considerable means, and 
was of the opinion that farming operations could be 
much more efficientl}^ accomplished if farmers had 
l)(4ter horses. He was a physician of high character 
and integrity and his education was above the aver- 
age. He recognized the futility of trying to improve 
the common horses of the district without purebred 
sires of desirable type as seed stock, and with this in 
mind he made an importation of 3 Percherons in 
1874. Two were stallions — Richard Coeur de Lion 
406 and Duke de Morny 152. The mare was Em- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 299 

press Eugenie 545, a very valiiable brood matron. 
The nucleus formed by this importation was added 
to in 1882 by the purchase of 2 stallions and 6 mares 
at the W. T. Walters sale. The original sale sheet 
made out in Mr. Walters' own handwriting is here 
presented : 




BJALTI MORE, , . J^4f<tte£^;S' ^ I 8_j 

Bought of W.JT. WALTERS & CO. 







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Jo. 68 EXCHANGE 


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An importation of 4 stallions and 5 mares was 
made from France in 1883. Very few mares were 



300 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HOESE 

purchased after this, but nearly all the females pro- 
duced were kept and the stud soon grew to large 
proportions. 

Mares Owned and Colts Raised. — An examination 
of the old stud records kept by Ezra Stetson shows 
that 14 Percheron mares were bred in 1883. Eight 
of these foaled, but the Percheron Society records 
show that he recorded only 5 colts of his own breed- 
ing, so it is evident that some of the colts died or 
were altered before time for registration. 

The number of colts raised gradually increased. 
In 1885 5 were foaled to be recorded subsequently, 
in 1886 6, in 1887 6, in 1888 10, in 1889 8, and in 
1890 15. Altogether Stetson & Sons raised 33 stal- 
lions and 30 mares of their own breeding between 
1881 and 1890. 

Dr. Stetson bred and raised 4 Percherons prior to 
1880, all out of Empress Eugenie. She raised 7 foals 
altogether, most of which were very good. Three of 
the mares were retained in the stud and proved valu- 
able producers. 

The Stetson Sires. — Richard Coeur de Lion was 
the first sire used and one of the best. He was a 
rather large, rugged gray, a bit upstanding, but 
fairly well balanced. On the whole his colts were 
larger than most of those begot by later sires used 
by Dr. Stetson; the older breeders, still living, who 
knew him, consider that he was probably the best 
sire used in the first 20 years. He sired only 5 pure- 
bred colts for Dr. Stetson but his get out of grade 
mares in the country did much good. He stood in 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 301 

Michigan in 1877, but afterwards returned to the 
Stetson stud. 

Duke de Morny 152, imported with the others in 
1874, sired only 3 purebreds for the doctor, but he 
also proved a valuable getter of grade stock out of 
the mares in that section and his descendants are 
valued to this day. Torreador 1140 (1607) was the 
next sire used to any extent. He was in the Walters 
purchase of 1882 and sired 12 stallions and 7 mares in 
Dr. Stetson's stud. Monarch 1128 (1606), the other 
stallion bought at the same time, was also used 
slightly. Victor 1141 (1600), imported by Mr. Wal- 
ters, was sold to S. W. Ficklin in 1882, but was pur- 
chased by Dr. Stetson about 1886. He was used more 
liberally than any other sire at that time. A gray, 
foaled in 1874, he was a horse of great style and 
quality, but upstanding and lacking in depth of rib 
and size of middle. Mr. Walters gives his height as 
17.1 hands, but this is probably a bit too much. He 
was close to 17 hands, however, but too light in the 
barrel for modem standards. The best that can be 
said is that he imparted much style and quality to 
the Stetson stock at the expense of some of the draft 
attributes which were more needed. 

Valuable Brood Mares. — Empress Eugenie was a 
brood mare of more than average value. Two of her 
daughters were retained and one of them, Maria 
Louisa 835, proved to be a fairly good breeder. The 
best-known son of Empress Eugenie was Leroi 1743, 
sired by Richard Coeur de Lion, He was sold into 
Ohio, near Cardington, and is rated as one of the best 



302 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of the sires used in that section in the '80 's. Flora 
1119, foaled in 1880, and Zoe 1142, imported in 1881, 
were among the mares bought from Mr. Walters in 
1882. Zoe raised a colt in 1882 but did not have 
another of record until 1889, after which she settled 
down and foaled 9. Flora did somewhat better. She 
produced her first colt when three years of age and 
foaled 4 in succession, missed 2 years, raised 8 in 8 
successive years, missed a year, and then foaled 3 
more in 3 years — a total of 15 between 1883 and 1900, 
a record that has been equaled by very few mares. 
The first 8 were stallions, followed by 2 fillies, 3 stal- 
lions, and 2 more fillies, a total of 11 stallions and 
4 fillies. Her colts on the whole were good, though 
the later ones by Fearnaught excelled the earlier by 
other sires. 

Not much showyard work was done by the Stet- 
sons, but quiet, steady advertising was resorted to 
and a great many Percheron stallions were sold and 
distributed over a wide range of territory. No effort 
was made to sell the mares as it was desired to in- 
crease the stud as rapidly as possible. 

Dr. Stetson's influence was not as far-reaching as 
that of some of his contemporaries, but it was never- 
theless of value. He was a man of lofty character 
and high ideals, and engaged in the business because 
he felt the necessity of making better draft blood 
available to American farmers. His words and acts 
were such as to assist in putting the business on an 
honorable basis. 

Degen Bros. — The firm of Degen Bros., Ottawa, 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 'M'.i 

111., was quite active during the period under con- 
sideration. The Degens were dealers, but handU'd 
some mares and bred some good colts. They exliib- 
ited many horses at the leading fairs and were quit(^ 
successful, but their stock appears to have been so 
scattered as to have been almost lost to sight. They 
bred 24 stallions and 19 mares during the time we 
are considering. These were sired by 10 different 
stallions, so it is evident that their breeding opera- 
tions were incidental. The stallion L'Ami 6230 
(1649) was imported hj this firm and left a. few 
colts in their stud. He subsequently won first at 
the Ohio State Fair in 1888 and is now considered 
to have been one of the best stock horses used in 
Ohio. 

George S. HaJina. — George S. Hanna, a lawyer of 
Bloomington, 111., had a stud of Percherons which 
achieved more than a local reputation. His early 
stock was imported by George W. Stubblefield, who 
also imported several of the sires used in this stud. 
Mr. Hanna 's operations were on farms near Bloom- 
ington. He himself gave little attention to the busi- 
ness, and his Percheron breeding seems to have been 
carried on as an incident to farming. George W. 
Stubblefield was one of his chief advisers and helped 
sell some of the surplus produced. 

The Hanna stud was established in 1882. The 
number of colts produced gradually increased until 
in 1887 10 colts of Mr. Hanna 's own breeding were 
raised. By 1890 24 stallions and a like number of 
mares had been raised. No records are available as 



304 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

to the number of mares owned during this time, but 
they evidently totalled a fair number. 

The chief sires used were Vigoreux 3177 (403), a 
black, imported by Mr. Stubblefield in 1881, and 
Bendago 11807, bred by M. W. Dunham. Bendago 
was sired by Brilliant 1271 out of Julia 5676 (7015). 
He was not used until 1891, and was in active service 
for three years. King's Europe 8258, bred by S. N. 
King and sired by Extrador 4525 (386) out of Jessie 
6096 (1660), was another which has left a good repu- 
tation in central Illinois, though used but slightly in 

this stud. 

Beauty 6480 was a mare of Mr. Hanna's breeding 
so well thought of that he bred her to Fenelon 2682 
(38) in 1889. To this service she produced Fenelo 
14118 a mare which later proved a good breeder 
under the ownership of F. E. Waters and Cyrus Orr 
Mattie 18116 later passed into the ownership of 
Hanna & Co., Howard, Kans., and proved a good 
producer. Rosalie 18843, bred by Mr. Hanna, proved 
to be a good producer under the ownership of F. T. 
Fowler, F. H. Schrepel and Murrie Bros. None of 
the mares owned by Mr. Hanna was especially 
prolific, but a number of them produced more colts 
than were raised, the losses being considerable, as 
they are on every farm where the owner can give 
but slight attention to the work. 

Mr. Hanna closed out his Percheron interests m 
1894 by sale and trade. Among the purchasers were 
F. T. Fowler of Illinois, F. E. Waters of Iowa, Hanna 
& Co., F. H. Schrepel and J. W. & J. C. Robison of 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 305 

Kansas, and J. H. Mosby of Missouri. Other animals 
of Mr. Hanna's breeding were scattered here and 
there throughout central Illinois in the hands of 
farmers, and much of the stock has undoubtedly been 
lost because of neglecting the registration. Much 
good has accrued through the existence of this stud, 
however; it aided materially in the dissemination of 
good Percherons, helped greatly in improving the 
common stock of the country and contributed 
towards the fast gaining popularity of the breed. 

E. Hodgson & Son. — Eli Hodgson, whose earlier 
operations have already been reviewed, took his 
son, M. C. Hodgson, into partnership in 1868, so 
that the firm was in reality Hodgson & Son from 
the outset. The second and last importation made 
by this firm was in 1881. This consisted of 5 stal- 
lions and 11 mares. Only one mare had been im- 
ported in 1874, so that the purchases in 1881 really 
formed the foundation of the stud. More than usual 
interest attaches to the Hodgson collection because 
of the fact that it is one of the few Percheron studs 
in America that has been held intact and continued 
by three generations in one family. Its chronology 
is as follows: Eli Hodgson from 1859 to 1868; Eli 
Hodgson & Son, M. C, from 1868 until Eli Hodgson's 
death in 1890; M. C. Hodgson from 1890 until 1908, 
when it became what it now is, M. C. Hodgson & 
Sons, E. E. and E. W. 

The original Hodgson farm contained 480 acres in 
one tract, which has since been reduced to 320. It 
was located about 3 miles from Ottawa in one of 



306 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the richest farming- sections in Illinois. General 
live stock farming was followed from the outset and 
the Percheron mares ahvays had to earn their way 
in harness. The firm owned more than 40 mares 
in 1885, but only 14 or 15 of these were Percherons. 
Few Percheron colts were foaled at first, but 3 were 
raised in 1885, and the number gradually increased 
each year, until by 1890 21 stallions and 19 mares 
of their own breeding had been produced. 

French Victor 6088 (6125), a gray, was the great- 
est of the early sires used by the Hodgsons and 
one of the best they ever owned. He was bought 
as a suckling colt in France by E. Hodgson, who, 
with other American buyers, considered the dam 
Bapide (6124), by Brilliant 1899, one of the greatest 
Percheron mares in France. French Victor was by 
Philibert (760) and was consequently close akin in 
breeding to La Ferte 5144 (452), one of the most 
noted sliow horses and sires ever brought to this 
country. They were sired by the same stallion and 
both were out of daughters of Brilliant 1899. Hodg- 
son exhibited French Victor at the Illinois State 
Fair in 1885 and won first in the foiir-year-old class. 
French Victor was not shown to any extent subse- 
quently, but was freely used in the stud and was 
just coming into general notice as a sire when his 
death occurred in 1889 from colic. His daughters 
were considered to be among the best ever bred by 
the firm. 

Bernard 10570 and Loran B. 10567, foaled in 1886 
and 1887 respectively, both sired by French Victor 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 307 

out of Margot 4563 (2826), were used to some extent, 
but the next sire of consequence was Parfait 3d 
10727 (12939). This stallion, a black, was imported 
by W. L. Ellwood in 1889. He was a massive draft 
horse and got some very good colts, but did not 
nick nearly so well on the daughters of French Victor 
as did Confident 3647 (397), owned by Nagie & Son 
at Grand Eidge, 111., near Ottawa. In the judgment 
of good horsemen, including M. C. Hodgson himself, 
one of the worst errors the firm ever made was in 
not purchasing Confident to follow French Victor; 
he was a tried sire of the same line of breeding and 
his colts were distinctly better than those of any 
other sire used on the daughters of French Victor. 
Georgiana 10578 (6123), Lady Tacheau 10520 
(6119) and Margot 4563 (2826) were some of the 
best brood mares in the Hodgson stud during the 
'80 's. Georgiana produced to the service of French 
Victor the mare Georgiana 2d 15099, considered by 
the Hodgsons to have been the greatest mare they 
ever raised; she also produced other good colts. 
Lady Tacheau was a regular producer of good ones, 
the best being Lady Tacheau 2d 15100. Two of 
Margot 's colts were considered good enough to use 
in the stud. The most interesting thing about these 
mares, to a breeder, is the way they have bred on. 
Two of the greatest mares ever owned in the stud, 
and still living, are Hattie 2d 23757 and Lisette 2d 
21574. They were foaled in 1899 and 1898 and are 
granddaughters of Georgiana 2d and Lady Tacheau 
2d respectively; they are both by Confident; both 



308 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE • 

have been unusual brood mares. Details concerning 
their records will be given later. 

Ohio Breeders. — Although none of the breeders 
in Ohio bred enough colts to be included among the 
first 20 breeders of the United States during this 
period, there were a number of small breeders who 
bred some excellent Percherons. Jones Bros, were 
the leaders, and Samuel Kendeigh, M. V. Bates, 
E. J. Condit, C. DeLano and J. M. Carr also bred a 
goodly number. 

Jones Bros. — The firm of Jones Bros., Plain City, 
O., consisted of Albert and C. M. Jones, sons of 
Thomas Jones, whose early operations have already 
been discussed. The active direction of affairs rested 
"with C. M. Jones. He had been associated in the 
business with his father since 1864, but bred and 
recorded a few animals of his own from 1878 on. In 
1883 Thomas Jones discontinued operations and the 
horses passed to the sons. Thomas Jones bred 3, 
C. M. Jones 6, and Jones Bros. 31 during this period 
— a total of 40 Percherons from the one farm. 

The Jones farm, on which Percherons have been 
bred since 1864, in the hands of two generations, is 
located at the edge of Plain City. It is not large 
and there never were more than 10 mares of produc- 
ing age kept at one time. The development of this 
stud and its maintenance on the one farm in an 
unbroken line for 42 years (1864 to 1916) is particu- 
larly interesting and significant to other farmers 
who desire to breed a few good Percherons in the 
course of their ordinary farming operations. Much 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 309 

of the time the mimber of producing mares was less 
than 10. The number of colts raised and recorded 
annually varied from 1 to 7. 

A good foundation for the stud had been laid 
by Thomas Jones. Rose 604 and 3 of her daughters, 
all by Normandy 351, had been bred to Ajax 5, and 
from this foundation some excellent females were 
produced. Between the time when Ajax dropped out 
and the purchase of Greluchet 11333 (21165) in 1889 
the firm had no stallion of consequence; the best 
mares were bred to horses owned by other parties. 
Napoleon 328, Valor 951, Mignon 6090 (2894), Lion 
273, and L'Ami 6239 (1649) were among the sires 
so used. 

Lion was one of the best of these stallions. He 
was owned by W. H. Case & Co. at Delaware. This 
horse was a gray, about 16.2 hands high and weighed 
between 1,800 and 1,900 pounds in breeding condi- 
tion. He was a well-balanced horse of drafty pat- 
tern, good in the underpinning and with proper 
action. His best son, Martell 2491, bred by the 
Joneses, was out of Norma 1779, a daughter of Ajax. 
Martell was sold as a yearling in 1883 for $500. His 
purchaser, J. P. Thompson, kept and used him till 
1888, when he won the silver cup at the Ohio State 
Fair for the best Percheron stallion bred in Ohio. 
He was sold immediately afterward to a man near 
Cleveland for $2,000, but sired no purebred colts 
after leaving Thompson's ownership. 

Mignon, commonly known as ''Mingo Chief," was 
another good sire used in Delaware county and pat- 



310 A HISTORY OF THE) PEKCHERON HORSE 

ronizecl by Jones Bros. They raised 4 good colts 
sired by him. This sire appears to have left an 
unusually good lot of colts. He was a black, foaled 
in 1880, and imported in 1884 by J. G. Kemp. He 
was sold in 1888 to Charles McCurdy, who appar- 
ently managed to acquire several of the best sires 
used in Ohio at this period. Mignon was a big, 
thick horse of excellent proportions and good qual- 
ity. He was a grandson of Brilliant 1899 through 
Bon Espoir 1270 (753), and adds more luster to 
the fame of the Brilliant strain. 

L'Ami was owned by parties at Cardington, 0. Mr. 
Jones sent some mares to be bred to him and among 
the colts obtained Austerlitz 9145. This horse was 
a gray, out of the mare Clio 2496. He was a high- 
class individual and stood for years in the vicinity 
of Delaware, 0., where Mr. Jones sold him. He 
proved an extremely valuable stud horse, a getter of 
excellent geldings that were real market-toppers, and 
he got a few good purebred colts as well. The mare 
that is now considered the most valuable brood mare 
in Delaware county, Delia 65193, was sired by 
Austerlitz and her dam was by Martell 2491. 

Greluchet was the first sire of note bought by the 
Jones firm after the death of Ajax. He was imported 
by Mark W. Dunham as a yearling in 1889 and was 
selected by C. M. Jones immediately after his impor- 
tation as the best colt out of 19 yearling sons of Bril- 
liant 3d. He was about 16.3 hands high and weighed 
about 1,900 pounds in fair breeding condition. In 
color he was black with a small star. Greluchet was 



OTIIER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 311 

well-balanced, with extra good feet and legs; lie had a 
typical Percheron head, good neck and sloping shoul- 
ders; he was deep-bodied and massive, strong in back 
and loin, with a fairly level cronp and heavily- 
muscled hindquarters. He had quality and much 
style and action. He Avas used in the Jones stud 
from 1890 till 1898. A discussion of his get will be 
taken up later. 

In the 20 years from 1880 to 1900 no mares save 
those of their own breeding were used in the Jones 
stud, with one exception. One mare, and only one 
was bought. The mares used were all of one founda- 
tion family and what outside blood was infused came 
through the sires. The foundation matrons were 
good and as a result some extra good brood mares 
were developed in the stud. Rose 604 was the real 
foundation mare. She had three daughters, Maggie 
578, Belle 522 and Dido 539, foaled in 1869, 1870 and 
1871 respectively. All were by Normandy 351. Belle 
proved decidedly the best of the three, individually 
and as a brood mare. She was a well-proportioned 
mare of good quality and was noted for her fiery 
temperament. Norma 1779 and Alice 1781 were her 
two best daughters; both were by Ajax. She pro- 
duced 10 colts of record in 14 years. 

Belle, Norma, Alice, Clio 2496, Grisette 1778, 
Helena 1786 and Littie 1785 were the real producers 
in this stud during the '80 's, and most of the good 
things bred on this stock farm have descended 
through some of these dams. Norma, Alice and 
Grisette were the most valuable brood mares. They 



312 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

were regular producers, raising 9, 9 and 7 colts of 
record respectively, besides some that were cas- 
trated or that died before being recorded. Besides 
this, their colts were good in type, size and quality 
and sold for good prices, especially Norma 's colts. 
Martell 2491 was the best colt she raised during the 
time mentioned. Alice produced Clio, the dam of the 
good stock horse Austerlitz, already considered. 

No showing of any consequence was practiced by 
the Joneses during this period, although the firm did 
win second at the Ohio State Fair in 1888 on Druid 
in the yearling stallion class. A few sales were made, 
but they were scattered. 

Samuel Kendeigh. — Samuel Kendeigh began in a 
small way in 1884, and continued breeding Percher- 
ons till 1900. Buckeye Mark 4666 was the only ani- 
mal of note bred by him during the earlier period of 
his work. This horse was out of Veranda 2747 
(1571) and sired by Brilliant 1271. Buckeye Mark 
developed into a very good individual and was used 
for some time at the head of the stud. He was shown 
at the Ohio State Fair in 1888, where he won second 
in the regular class for three-year-old stallions. 

Mr. Kendeigh 's operations were enlarged after 
this, and there are 18 colts of record bred and raised 
by him up to 1890. His foundation stock was prac- 
tically all drawn from Mark W. Dunham of Oak- 
lawn Farm. 

M. V. Bates. — Capt. M. V. Bates, a giant in stature, 
who at one time turned his size to cash account with 
the Barnum shows, established a Percheron stud on 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 313 

his farm near Seville, 0., a short distance from Mr. 
Kendeigh's. Capt. Bates also secured his foundation 
stock, a stallion and 3 mares, from M. W. Dunham. 
Bates' operations began in 1884 and continued till 
1900. He achieved no special success, and the horses 
he had were smaller than modem-type Percherons, 
but he did aid in distributing and popularizing Per- 
cherons in Ohio. Twelve colts of record were raised 
by 1890. His sales were chiefly local. 

E. J. Condit. — ^Located at Condit, Delaware Co., 
0., E. J. Condit was one of the earliest of the Ohio 
breeders. His operations were on a small scale. 
Although he began in 1882, he had raised by 1890 
only 11 colts of his own breeding. Thirty-nine colts 
were bred and raised during the next decade. 

Iowa's Percheron Breeders. — ^A. W. Cook, Charles 
City, la., has the honor of having been the first man 
to take an imported Percheron to Iowa. This was 
the stallion Duke of Normandy (John Sheridan) 168. 
The horse was bought by Cook in 1869 from Peter 
Bland, Milford Center, 0., where he had been in 
service one year. Cook kept him till 1874, when he 
sold him in March to Jacob Erb & Co., Ames, la., 
where he died the following August. Mr. Cook also 
has the honor of breeding the first Percheron of 
record in Iowa, Three mares were bought by him 
from B. H. Campbell of Illinois early in 1875. These 
mares raised fillies foaled in 1876, and it is from 
this date that Percheron breeding in Iowa starts. 

Only 6 American-bred Percherons were raised in 
Iowa up to 1880, but operations expanded rapidly. 



314 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Before 1890 951 stallions and 123 mares were im- 
l^orted directly to Iowa, and Iowa farmers proved 
to be liberal buyers of tlie best liorses brought over 
by importers located in other states. As a conse- 
quence, Percheron breeding was so increased that 
132 stallions and 160 mares, bred in Iowa, were 
raised by 1890, and the distribution of both mares 
and stallions was more general in this state than in 
any other except Illinois. 

Mr. Cook's purchases were made in France and 
from Degen Bros, and B. H. Campbell of Illinois. 
W. W. & Al Power of Pulaski, la., who were, next 
to Cook, the earliest Percheron breeders in the state, 
obtained their foundation stock from the Dillons of 
Normal, 111. 

Iowa Breeders of the '80's. — Altogether there were 
66 breeders of Percherons in Iowa during this time, 
but nearly all owned only a few head. The leading 
breeders in the state, so far as number of animals 
bred is concerned, were Singmaster & Sons, J. H. 
Barnett, John Lenhart, D. M. Baughman, D, Brown- 
son & Sons, P. P. & L. H. Humbert and M. L. Ayres, 
but there were men of real metal among the smaller 
breeders whose stock has since come into prominence. 

Maplehurst Stock Farm. — On the fertile prairies 
near Keota, la., Samuel Singmaster had located in 
1843. His sons, William and Charles F., grew into 
the business with him and by 1874 the family was 
possessed of extensive holdings of good Iowa land. 
William, a bachelor, was the most keenly interested 
in horses and prevailed upon his father to finance 




[ C. R. Coleman ] J!i^ [ c/ O.Singmaster \ 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 315 

an importation in 1875. The horses were selected 
by William Singmaster, but the business was 
handled under the name of Singmaster & Sons. Four 
Percheron stallions constituted the first importation. 
No more were brought over until 1883 and 1884, 
when other importations, including both mares and 
stallions, were made. Percheron breeding by this 
firm really started in 1885. Two colts of their own 
breeding were raised in 1886, 2 more in 1887, 12 in 
1888, and by 1890 14 stallions and 27 mares of their 
own breeding had been produced. 

Romer 7596 (7471) and Francillon 9842 (10428) 
were the most important sires used and were im- 
ported in 1887 and 1888 respectively. Both were 
horses of showyard caliber, and both won first hon- 
ors in class at the Iowa State Fair, Due Doudaville 
2d 11695 (12685), imported in 1889, was another 
good horse, champion at the Iowa State Fair in 1890, 
and extensively used in the stud during the next 
decade. 

J. H. Bamett. — J. H. Barnett, of Indianola, la., 
was one of the earliest of Iowa's Percheron breeders, 
beginning in 1883. He did not own many Percher- 
ons and raised only 15 of his own breeding by 1890, 
but his horses were good in type, and he won a num- 
ber of prizes in the open classes at the Iowa State 
Fair in 1885, '86, '87, '88, '89 and '90. He contrib- 
uted materially to the popularity of Percherons in 
the central part of Iowa, and encouraged many other 
breeders to make a start with Percherons. 

Other Breeders. — D. M. Baughman, Pulaski, la., 



316 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE ~ 

John Lenliart, Clarksville, la., the Humberts of 
Coming, la., and M. L. Ayres, Shenandoah, la., all 
made a beginning in Percheron breeding in the late 
'80 's, but had no more than made a fair start by 
the end of the epoch we are considering. 

Further Consideration of Illinois. — Lest it be 
thought tliat Illinois is receiving nndne attention, it 
must again be noted that more than one-third of all 
of the breeders in the United States up to 1890 were 
located in that state. We have now to deal with 
the operations of men who although not among the 
leaders in the state were nevertheless men of influ- 
ence in Percheron affairs. 

Leander J. McCormick, for many years in active 
charge of the McCormick reaper interests, retired 
from active business about 1885. He shortly after- 
ward purchased 250 acres near Lake Forest, 111., a 
short distance north of Chicago. He soon added 
200 acres more and set out to develop a stock-farm. 
Jersej" and Brown Swiss cattle were imported. Per- 
cherons were selected as the breed of horses best 
suited to Mr. McCormick 's ideas of American needs, 
and the stud was founded by direct importations. 

Accompanied by his son, R. Hall McCormick, who 
had inherited a love for good horses, L. J. McCor- 
mick Avent to France in 1887. Eighteen animals were 
selected. Martignac (10437) was chosen as the best 
two-year-old obtainable in the Perche, and was 
bought from M. Tacheau at a very long price. He 
was upon importation renamed Eeaper 8076 (Mar- 
tignac 10437) and so appears in the Percheron rec- 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 317 

ords in America. Fourteen head more were im- 
ported in 1888. Twenty-eight of the 32 head were 
mares. Twelve stallions and an equal number of 
mares were bred and raised by the Messrs. Mc- 
Cormick by 1890 inclusive. 

Reaper was by Confident 3647 (397), one of Bril- 
liant 1271 's greatest sons, and was one of the best 
of his time. He stood about 17.1 hands high, 
weighed more than 2,100 pounds, and was a big, mas- 
sive black, with great draft character. He had a 
very good head, a well-set neck and excellent under- 
pinning. The mares were a fairly good lot, but not 
so outstanding as the sire. No sales were made at 
this time. The influence of this stud on others will 
be dealt with later. 

Pre-eminence of McLean Co., 111. — By 1890 Illinois 
had 203 American breeders of Percherons. Forty- 
four of these were in McLean, 20 in La Salle, 10 in 
Dupage, 8 in Tazewell, 8 in Woodford and 8 in De- 
Kalb counties. McLean county alone had more 
breeders than any state except the three leaders. 

The leadership of the counties in the north-central 
part of Illinois in Percheron breeding, which has 
continued down to the present day, warrants a con- 
sideration of the underlying factors. The counties 
nearer to Chicago have from early days borne the 
brand of the dairy interests. Farmers within 50 
miles were influenced in numerous ways to engage 
in dairying. Farms were given up largely, or 
wholly, to this industry and there was no room for 
horses, other than those actually required. The 



318 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

dairyman, accustomed to a pay check every month, 
was not favorable to an investment which might 
not return dividends for 3 or 4 years. For these 
reasons the spread of Percheron breeding in coun- 
ties near Chicago was slow. 

In McLean, La Salle, Woodford and Tazewell 
counties other conditions prevailed. Farms were 
large and the land well adapted to heavy machinery 
and draft horses. Beef cattle and hog-raising were 
the main lines of live stock production. Farmers 
were accustomed to making good-sized investments 
and waiting a year or two for returns. They were, 
on the average, wealthier than the dairy farmers 
around Chicago. 

Besides these general factors, the human equa- 
tion had some bearing. The leading importers in 
northern Illinois, Mark W. Dunham and W. L. Ell- 
wood, had by unusual advertising built up a nation- 
wide business. Buyers came from all states. These 
importers were therefore largely independent of 
local trade. In central Illinois there were a large 
number of small importers, who lacked the nation- 
wide advertising and showring prestige requisite to 
making sales far from home. Their trade was there- 
fore largely local. The result was that more farmers 
were induced to make purchases than would have 
been the case had the local field been less thor- 
oughly worked. The advantages of using Percher- 
ons became so evident that more farmers invested 
and McLean, La Salle, Livingston, Tazewell, Iro- 
quois, Woodford, and McDonough counties rapidly 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 319 

developed the leading Percheron breeding district 
of the United States. 

William Hurt, whose operations as a Percheron 
breeder began in 1882, probably bred more high- 
class Percherons than any other breeder in McLean 
county. His foundation stock was obtained from 
the Dillons, and he secured in Powerful 6670 (Bay- 
ard 7519) one of the best sires ever used in central 
Illinois. Powerful was foaled in 1878 and imported 
in 1882 by Dillon Bros. He was a gray, about 17 
hands high and weighed more than a ton — a, mas- 
sive, well-proportioned draft horse. He was a 
grandson of Favori 1st (711), one of the best and 
largest horses of his time. Powerful was purchased 
almost immediately after importation by Hurt and 
was owned by him till February, 1898, when he 
was sold conditionally to A. L. Robison, Sr., who 
used him till his death in 1905 at the ripe age of 27 
years. 

The colts sired by Powerful had size and good 
underpinning. Loiret 8181, one of his sons bred by 
Hurt, won first at the Illinois State Fair in 1888. 
Capsheaf 16986 was another of Powerful 's sons of 
showyard character, and he was valued most highly 
as a sire of market horses. Levetta P. 10285 and 
Christina P. 16608 were two of his daughters that 
proved to be show mares and remarkable producers. 
These were all bred by William Hurt, and his sound 
judgment of what constituted merit in a draft horse 
made him one of the most influential breeders of 
his time. He exhibited freely, but chiefly at local 



320 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

shows in central Illinois. The winnings of Percher- 
ons bred by Mr. Hurt influenced general Percheron 
operations most favorably, because the animals he 
won on were the right kind — drafty, well-balanced 
and far better than the average in feet and legs. 
They were the durable, long-lived Percherons that 
continued sound to death and their descendants have 
done well wherever owned. 

Mr. Hurt took his sons into business with him 
after 1890. The sale of stock to other studs will 
be dealt with in considering the later work of the 
fimi. 

Ed. Hodgson of El Paso, Zimri Hodgson of Healey, 
S. N. King of Bloomington, five different members 
of the Stubblefield famil}^ of Bloomington, F. P. 
Elder and W. M. Bright of Normal, and D. H. Van- 
dolah were other prominent breeders before 1890. 
Vandolah imported a great many Percherons as 
weanlings and carried them for a year or two on 
his farms. He is commonly accredited with having 
made more money in the importing business than any 
other man in the county. S. N. King bred King's 
Europe 8258, foaled in 1885. This horse was a good 
one, a prize-winner and a sire of merit, but his 
colts, like many of those of the Extrador 4525 (386) 
breeding, were rather hard feeders. Mr. King also 
used Bendago 11807, owned by Mr. Hanna, and Dave 
P. 14366, a son of Powerful bred by Mr. Hurt, in 
his stud. He bred some excellent horses. 

A well-informed horseman has declared that Zimri 
Hodgson bred better horses than any other member 




WW. Hurt 1 X ^ ^' ^'f^^^t 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 321 

of that family. He influenced Perclieron breeding 
very favorably, for his horses were of real merit. 

G. W. Stubblefield was the leading importer among 
the men of that name in McLean county, and many 
of the studs in central Illinois were founded on pur- 
chases made from him. His early operations as an 
importer have already been discussed. His breeding 
operations were incidental, for he was primarily an 
importer and dealer. Eight stallions and 10 mares 
are on record as bred by him from 1881 to 1890. He 
had but 5 or 6 mares, of which Queen of the West 
598 proved the most valuable. Henry Abrahams 224 
was one of his best sires — an extremely prepotent 
horse that influenced the grade stock of McLean 
county quite strongly. St. Hilaire 3911 (2965), an- 
other good stock horse, left more purebred descen- 
dants ; he was a well-balanced, massive horse weigh- 
ing about a ton, and left some very good stock. 

In Tazewell. — In Tazewell Co., 111., Percheron 
breeding was started by the importations made by 
J. W. Richmond. These horses went to William R. 
Baldwin and others about Delavan, 111. Baldwin also 
bought some horses from Mr. Ellwood, among them 
Jambe d 'Argent 5796 (8233), a black horse of Favori 
1st (711) breeding. This horse proved to be extra 
good and did much good in Tazewell county. Romeo 
12725, later used at the head of Wm. Hurt & Sons' 
stud, was bred by Baldwin and was by this sire. 

D. H. & F. S. Allen started in 1888 and have never 
been out of Percheron breeding. R. A. Brawner, 
an uncle of the Aliens, was in on their first importa- 



322 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

tioii, and bred a few during the following 20 years. 
In La SaJle.— In La Salle Co., 111., M. C. Hodgson 
and W. E. Prichard, the leaders, have already been 
discussed. Richard Wolf began in 1882 and bred 
some good Percherons, though his operations were 
limited. R. Nagle & Sons, Grand Ridge, 111., in 1883 
bought some of the best mares Mark W. Dunham 
imported and secured Confident 3647 (397), the son 
of Brilliant 1271. Mr. Nagle later bought some of 
Mr. Ell wood's best mares. Confident was a show 
horse in every sense of the word and a sire of the 
top rank. Had the members of this firm developed 
the colts and advertised the stock they would have 
been among the leading American breeders; they 
were poor feeders and bad caretakers, however, and 
the colts were stunted in growth and the stock was 
never in fit shape for show or sale. The real worth 
of the blood manifested itself whenever animals 
bred by Nagle & Sons were given a fair chance, and 
every man who has been interviewed who bought 
stock of this breeding declared that the animals 
grew out and developed into marvelously good draft 
horses; but the profit went to the purchaser instead 
of to the breeder, as the animals were so rough and 
stunted while in the hands of the breeders that no 
one could be persuaded to pay a decent price for 
them. It is most unfortunate that conditions devel- 
oped as they did; but R. Nagle was old and within a 
few years after starting could not give the horses the 
attention they deserved. The sons could not be 
made to realize the need of developing the colts. 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 323 

The net consequence was that a stud founded on good 
horses of good breeding exerted less than one-tenth 
the influence it should have had in upbuilding draft 
horse breeding, and all for the lack of proper feed 
and care. 

Other Minnesota Breeders. — Besides the leading 
breeders in Minnesota, whose work has already been 
discussed, there were a number of less prominent 
men who bred and distributed much valuable stock. 
The most important of these were J. E. Wilson, 
James M. Dunn, William Mies & Sons, and T. L. & 
J. L. DeLancey. 

J. E. Wilson was the founder of Wilson Bros., well- 
known clothing manufacturers of Chicago. He had 
about 16,000 acres of land around Lake Wilson, Minn. 
He was engaged in general farming and stock-rais- 
ing and became interested in Percherons about 1886. 
His foundation stock consisted of mares bought from 
Dunham and Ellwood. Kleber 7063 (10270), a son 
of the noted Gerome 3655 (436), was the most im- 
portant early sire used. A little later Mr. Wilson 
obtained some mares from Mark M. Coad, either 
directly or through Mr. Ellwood. His real interest 
in the breed and his appreciation of the value of 
good sires are shown by the fact that he shipped 
a number of mares to Oaklawn to be bred to Bril- 
liant 1271 at a time when the service fee for that 
sire was $200. Five colts were obtained, all foaled 
in 1888. 

Mr. Wilson's plans were broken by his death 
early in the '90 's. The widow carried the stock 



324 A HISTORY OP THE PERGHERON HORSE 

along for a time until prices improved, but disposed 
of it all by 1900. Some of the animals were sold in 
Montana. 

William Mies & Sons began by purchasing Bap- 
tiste 3064 (41) from Leonard Johnson in 1886. This 
was an extraordinarily good horse, fully described 
in our discussion of Leonard Johnson's work. The 
Mieses had no Percheron mares at this time, but 
imported some in 1887 and 1888, and bred very good 
ones. The firm later became Mies Bros. Their Per- 
cheron breeding ceased about 1900. The stock was 
scattered, but did substantial service in a general 
way. 

James M. Dunn was a small breeder who began 
about 1886. Most of his stock was secured from 
Leonard Johnson. He bred but few animals. 

T. L. & J. L. DeLancey made their start in 1874 
by buying 2 grade Percheron stallions and several 
mares in Kane Co., 111. These were all sired by Suc- 
cess 452, Mark W. Dunham's first sire, and had the 
smooth finish and symmetry which marked all his 
colts. The stallions were sold at good prices. The 
mares were kept and bred to Leonard Johnson 's im- 
ported stallions. The stallions resulting were sold 
profitably as grade Percherons, and the mares were 
kept for breeding purposes. In 1878 the firm pur- 
chased an imported stallion from Leonard Johnson, 
and subsequently began dealing in stallions to some 
extent. When Mr. Ellwood started the DeLanceys 
began making some purchases from him and con- 
tinued purchasing sale stock from both Ellwood and 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 325 

Johnson until importations were made direct by the 
firm in 1888. Their Percheron breeding began with 
the purchase of a carload of mares from Ell wood 
in 1885. Superieur 5752 (2188) was the first sire used 
and the first Percheron bred by this firm, was foaled 
in 1887. Six colts were bred by 1890; while many 
mares were purchased or imported, most of them 
were soon sold. The DeLanceys exhibited freely at 
the Minnesota State Fair in the '80 's with marked 
success, but as their chief work came after 1890 
details will be given later. 

Other Breeders in Wisconsin. — ^While Messrs. 
Pabst and Kellogg, whose work has already been 
dealt with, were the chief Badger State breeders, 
there were others whose Percheron breeding was 
important. Among these were H. A. Babcock of 
Neenah, H. A. Briggs of Delavan and Elkhorn, N. W. 
Morley of Baraboo, Peter Truax of Eau Claire and 
J. M. White of Rolling Prairie. 

H. A. Babcock was a wealthy lumberman with 
extensive land interests near Neenah, Wis. He was 
a man of more than average ability, and before 
engaging in Percheron breeding had an extensive 
experience in purchasing horses for use in lumber 
camps. His keen observation of the essential points 
of a draft horse, gained through years of purchase 
and ownership of heavy draft teams engaged in such 
heavy hauling, made him an unusually discriminat- 
ing judge. His first Percheron purchases from M. 
W. Dunham were marked by the men connected with 
Oaklawn because of the excellence of the animals 



326 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

bought. He began in 1880, but did not breed many 
until after 1884, All told 13 stallions and 15 mares 
were bred and raised by him in 1890. One of the 
best early sires used by Mr. Babcock was Canadien 
7033 (6653), a gray son of the noted Voltaire 3540 
(443). He was a medium-sized horse, standing about 
16.2 hands high and weighing about 1,900 pounds 
when in good flesh. He was compact and well-pro- 
portioned and a very good sire. Sansonnet was 
used still earlier and sired the phenomenal show and 
brood mare Linda 12986. This mare, bred by Mr. 
Babcock, made most of her record in the hands of 
Oaklawn Farm, and her history has already been 
given. The greatest sire ever used was Villers 
13169 (8081), of which more anon. Relatively few 
animals were sold by Mr. Babcock before 1890. 
Further discussion of his work will come later. 

H. A. Briggs, who bred and raised 17 Percherons 
on Prairie View Farm by 1890, began breeding 
about 1886. He bought some mares from R. B. 
Kellogg, and made an importation himself in 1887. 
His farm consisted of 420 acres between Elkhom 
and Delavan — a very good farm of dark prairie 
loam. Mr. Briggs worked his mares as much as the 
amount of work to be done would permit, and states 
that the mares which had a moderate amount of 
work gave him better results than the idle mares 
did. The largest number of producing mares kept 
at any one time was 25. ° A smaller number was 
usually owned. The first and best sire used was 
Louis 6337 (2430), a black with a star. He was 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 327 

about 17 hands high and weighed 2,150 pounds in 
show condition. He was fairly well-proportioned 
and very good in action. He won first as an aged 
stallion at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1892, and 
was also first in the class for get-of-sire. He won 
second in the same classes at the Minnesota State 
Fair the same year. His colts were large and of 
rugged draft type. 

N. W. Morley, Baraboo, Wis., began in 1886 by 
purchasing some Percherons from M. W. Dunham. 
By 1890 he had bred and raised 5 stallions and 8 
mares, and his operations, while not extensive, were 
with good stock. Ravenstein 1301, sired by Bril- 
liant 1899 out of a half-sister to his own (Bril- 
liant's) dam, was the first sire used. He left some 
good colts and the best one Morley ever raised, Sadi 
8233, a stallion, was sired by Ravenstein out of 
Florentine 969 (875). Bon Coeur 3479 (367) was an^ 
other good sire used to some extent at an early date. 
He was a line-bred Brilliant, sired by Brilliant 1271 
out of a daughter of Brilliant 1899. His colts were 
uniform and a good kind. 

Other Michigan Breeders. — Mr. Palmer's work, 
already reviewed, was supplemented by the work of 
27 other Michigan breeders. Among the most prom- 
inent were Savage & Famum of Grosse Isle, Jacob 
P. Sleight of Bath, and E. Woodman of Paw Paw. 

Savage & Farnum were advertising agents, en- 
gaged in placing advertising in leading papers 
throughout the country. They had a farm on an 
island in the river below Detroit and here they 



328 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

establislied Grosse Isle Stock Farm. Their founda- 
tion stock was obtained from M. W. Dunham and 
John W. Akin, and tliey subsequently made some 
scattering purchases and still later bought a num- 
ber from Thomas W. Palmer. The Percheron breed- 
ing operations of this firm began in 1884. By 1890 
they bred and raised 23 stallions and 19 mares. The 
most noted stallion they owned at this time was 
Romulus 873, imported in 1879 by Mark W. Dunham 
and sold that year to H. Walker & Son of Detroit. 
Romulus was a gray, foaled in 1873, and had the 
distinction of having won first in the aged stallion 
class at the Universal Exposition at Paris in 1878. 
He was about 16.1 hands high and weighed about 
1,700 pounds in breeding condition, but was an extra- 
ordinary show horse in every way — beautifully bal- 
anced, with superb style, finisli and action. He was 
an extremely prepotent sire and some of the best 
horses imported in the early '80 's were by him. He 
sired but ten purebred colts in America, which were 
bred by Dunham (1) and Hiram Walker & Son (9). 
Too much showyard fitting apparently interfered 
with his usefulness, for he got no purebred colts for 
Savage & Farnum. 

An item of interest in connection with the opera- 
tions of Savage & Farnum is the fact that among 
their importations was the stallion Sebastopol 5272 
(7043), later famous as the sire of Armour's Big 
Jim, four times champion gelding over all breeds at 
the International Live Stock Exposition. J. H. S. 
Johnstone, whose persistent efforts traced Big Jim 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 329 

to his source, found that he was bred by D. C. 
Graham, Cameron, 111. Sebastopol was an aged horse 
when he sired the world-renowned champion, but 
this performance was no fluke, as he sired many 
high-class geldings that sold at good prices. It 
seems unfortunate that a horse with such a record 
as a gelding-getter should not have been used on 
purebred mares, but so far as can be ascertained he 
left but one purebred colt, the Percheron mare Sebas- 
tin 17105, foaled in 1892, and she left but few colts. 
The old horse was owned by B. F. Tinkham, Cam- 
eron, 111., at the time he sired Big Jim. 

Savage & Farnum exhibited quite freely at the 
Michigan and Ohio State Fairs and with fair suc- 
cess. This combined with the general advertising 
done by the firm, assisted materially in popularizing 
the breed in their territory. 

Jacob P. Sleight, Bath, Mich., began Percheron 
breeding in 1882. His first purchases were made 
from M. W. Dunham, T. Hall and H. Walker & Sons. 
He bred a few good colts. Abydos 960 (869), bought 
from Oaklawn Farm, was his best producer. 

Parsons & Baldwin, Watervliet, Mich., began in 
1884, and bred 9 Percherons by 1890. They began 
with the purchase of Floreda 1490 (1433) and her 
daughter Flora 2964, sired by Brilliant 1271. These 
were secured from M. W. Dunham. Flora was bred 
to Confident, owned by Nagle & Sons, in 1886, and 
to this service she foaled Nancy 10089, one of the 
three best mares owned by the firm during this 
epoch. Floreda was undoubtedly the greatest brood 



330 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

mare the firm ever owned; all of her colts, even 
from different sires, were good. Further discussion 
of the work of this firm will come later. 

E. Woodman, Paw Paw, Mich., did not begin until 
1888 and was but fairly started at the end of this 
epoch. He raised 9 of his' own breeding in 1889 and 
1890. His foundation stock was drawn from the 
Dunhams. Most of his work falls in the next epoch 
and will be taken up later. 

Other Breeders in New York. — Considering later 
history it seems extraordinary that New York state 
stood fourth in number of breeders during this 
epoch, but such is the case. Of the 31 breeders in 
the state, the leader, John W. Akin, has already been 
considered. A. P. Wright of Buffalo, E. H. Geiger 
of Danville, Frank B. Redfield of Batavia and B. B. 
Lord & Son of Sinclairville were others whose work 
helped greatly to popularize the breed in the Em- 
pire State and there were many others who aided 
materially in the work. Reference must be made 
also to B. T. Babbit, who was one of the first, if not 
the first, to breed purebred Percherons in the state 
of New York. 

A. P. Wright began in 1884 with a few mares and 
the stallion Jucher 3512 (2142), all bought from M. 
W. Dunham. His horses were well bred, but his 
operations were limited and terminated before much 
had been accomplished. E. H. Geiger also obtained 
his foundation stock from Oaklawn Farm, but his 
operations were too limited to be of much conse- 
quence. P. B. Redfield was engaged in breeding 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 331 

purebred stock of several kinds, and made his start 
in Percherons about 1886, with some purchases from 
Mr. Dunham. His chief sire was the American-bred 
Belidor 9520, by Brilliant 1271, an extra good colt 
which we have already mentioned. Redfield bred 
some good colts, but did not survive the depression 
of the '90 's, closing out about 1892. 

B. T. Babbitt, of New York City, millionaire soap 
and saleratus manufacturer, bought 7 mares and 9 
stallions from Mark W. Dunham in 1874. He was 
an enthusiastic horseman, but knew little about 
breeding Percherons and no special good came from 
his investment except in an advertising way, al- 
though some of the animals did some good in regions 
where they were subsequently sold. 

For some reason few of the Percherons owned in 
New York state during this period have continued 
their impression down to the present day. Most of 
the animals were scattered and passed into the hands 
of men who permitted their registration to go by 
default, and their blood has gradually been swal- 
lowed up in the common stock of the state. 

Percheron Breeding in Pennsylvania. — Pennsyl- 
vania had 23 breeders by 1890, but Powell Bros, were 
the only ones whose operations were at all exten- 
sive. They began breeding in 1884 and by 1890 had 
bred and raised 16 stallions and 18 mares. They were 
importers of and dealers in many kinds of purebred 
live stock, including practically all breeds of draft 
horses. J. T. Vance of Washington, J. P. Scott of 
Remington, and F. M. Finley of Finleyville were 



332 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

others whose Percheron studs were but fairly started 
by the close of this epoch, and their operations will 
be dealt with later. 

Shadeland, the Powell Bros.' stock-farm, made 
its start in Percherons Avhen some stallions and 
mares were imported in 1884. Additional mares 
were brought over in following years, and a good- 
sized band of brood mares was owned from that time 
on. Cresus 5435 (2513) was the most important 
early sire used. He was a gray of good type, a son 
of Selim (749). Noireau 5463 (1675), a gray son of 
Narbonne 1334 (777) by Brilliant 1899, was the next 
most important sire used. He was imported at the 
same time Cresus was in 1884, but was not given any 
opportunity on the purebred mares until 1888 and 
later. He left some good stock. The broad basis of 
operations maintained by Powell Bros, made them 
distributors of a great many Percherons in the east- 
ern states, but their influence on Percheron affairs 
was lessened by reason of the fact that they were 
dealers in all breeds and necessarily did not give 
Percherons as strong support as would otherwise 
have been the case. Their work was of far-reaching 
consequence, however, and many of the Percherons 
now in the eastern states trace to Shadeland Stock 
Farm. 

The Little Missouri Horse Co., of Meadville, Pa., 
was another company whose operations were far- 
reaching in popularizing Percheron sires for breed- 
ing up common grade stock. The stud was barely 
started at this time, however, and the story of this 




CM. North "i X ^ d. M.Lee 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OP THE PERIOD 333 

ranch is so fascinating in interest that it will be dealt 
with in full at a later period. 

Progress in Indiana. — Indiana had no outstanding 
leaders and the development of Percheron affairs in 
that state was slow. S. Crumpacker and R. F. Small 
of Westville and H. Hulman of Terre Haute were the 
only ones who bred more than 10 Percherons each 
during the time considered. Mr. Crumpacker was 
engaged in importing and raised some Percherons as 
early as 1880. His operations were incidental to his 
work as an importer in the firm of Crumpacker & 
Winters. Mr. Small obtained his foundation stock 
from this firm. Orphan Boy 1857, imported in 1882, 
was his first important sire, and he later used a good 
horse called Grandee 686 (743). Grandee was a black 
son of the great Favori 1st, and was a good, big 
horse, like most of those of this strain. He was 16 
years old when he sired his first foals for Mr. Small, 
but continued in service until he was 21 years of age. 
Mr. Hulman did not begin until about 1886 or 1887. 
He purchased his foundation stock from M. W. Dun- 
ham. 

In the Sunflower State. — To the Yankee pioneer, 
Henry Avery, Wakefield, Kans., goes the honor of 
having bred the first Percherons in Kansas. He had 
gone into the west when Indians were still plentiful 
and had secured extensive land holdings near the 
Eepublican River, some 12 or 15 miles northwest of 
Fort Riley and a short distance west of where the 
Kansas Agricultural College now stands. He liked 
good horses, had a genuine love for drafters, and 



334 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

made his start by purchasing some stock from the 
Dillons in 1877. In 1880 he bought Vidou 953 from 
M. W. Dunham, A year later he bought Nyanza 869, 
bred at Oaklawn, and also bought a mare. In sub- 
sequent years he made numerous purchases from Mr. 
Dunham. Mr. Avery's operations expanded rapidly 
and he found it advantageous to sell some of the 
stallions and mares he had taken to Kansas. As a 
result of increasing business he prevailed upon C R. 
Coleman, who was at that time working for M. W. 
Dunham, to go to Kansas and buy one of his farms 
near Wakefield for the purpose of engaging with 
him in breeding and dealing in Percherons. The 
firm of Avery & Coleman was accordingly formed 
about 1886. Mr. Avery kept some Percherons under 
his own management, however, so that from 1886 on 
he had two establishments, his own and that in 
which he held a partnership interest. He himself 
bred 14 Percherons between 1881 and 1890, and the 
firm of Avery & Coleman bred 28, making a total 
of 42 head — two and a half times as many as any 
other person or firm in the state. Nyanza was the 
most important early sire used. Voltaire 3d 4320 
(2963), a good horse sired by the noted show stallion 
Voltaire 3540 (443), was another used after 1885; 
he left some very good colts. Waterloo 16th 9287 
(14946), imported in 1888, was another extra good 
one used in the Avery stud. 

The activities of Henry Avery did more for Per- 
cherons at this time than those of any other breeder 
in Kansas, and he is entitled to much credit for the 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 335 

courage which led him to buy some excellent stal- 
lions and mares and for his aggressive championship 
of the Percheron cause at a time when the breed was 
practically unknown to Kansas farmers. Some of his 
best work came later, and will be taken up in due 
course. 

0. L. Thisler, Chapman, Kans., began in 1884 by 
purchasing some stock from W. L. Ellwood, with 
whom he continued to deal for a number of years. 
He was more of a dealer than a breeder, however, 
and bred but 16 head up to 1890. 

William A. Pierce came nearly being the first Per- 
cheron breeder in Kansas; he purchased in 1880 a 
stallion and mare which had been imported in 1878 
by Chas. W. Pierce of Boston. The horses were 
taken to his farm at Maple Hill, where he continued 
the business in a modest way, without making any 
particular effort to expand his operations in this 
direction. 

There were 16 Kansas breeders other than those 
already discussed, but most of them did not start 
until 1886 or 1887 and their work was only well 
started at the close of this epoch. 

In Missouri. — Ethan Allen Hitchcock and William 
B. Collier of St. Louis, A. F. McKee of Browning and 
D. Braymer of Braymer were the leaders among the 
18 breeders located in Missouri during this epoch. 

Mr. Hitchcock was a wealthy manufacturer and 
business man of St. Louis. He was splendidly edu- 
cated and one of the most cultured gentlemen ever 
engaged in Percheron breeding. He bought his 



336 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

foundation stock from Oaklawn Farm in 1883 and the 
following year lie and Mr. Collier, who was closely 
allied with him in business interests, bought 15 mares 
from Mark W. Dunham for $14,500. They were, 
needless to say, a select band. Mr. Hitchcock also 
purchased Cesar 3526 (601) from Mr. Dunham to 
head the stud, paying $6,000 — a price that was prob- 
ably the record at the time. Cesar was of large 
size and a remarkable show horse, but hardly as 
good a sire as he was an individual. Monarque 5149 
(2428), a son of Brilliant 1271, was secured and used 
a little later; he was a good one, standing about 16.2 
hands high, deep-bodied, thick and massive, and 
much on the type of his illustrious sire; he was an 
exceptionally valuable stud horse, both in France and 
America; one of his imported sons, Baccarat 11326 
(18639), subsequently made the reputation of R. B. 
Kellogg 's stud. Monarque left more and better colts 
than any other horse ever used in Mr. Hitchcock's 
stud, but Cesar was used to a greater extent in Mr. 
Collier's stud. It is extremely unfortunate that the 
pedigrees of so few of the descendants of animals 
bred in these studs have been preserved to the 
present day. Most of the colts raised were stallions 
which went out in districts where grade mares pre- 
vailed. Of the mares, the only ones which have done 
much good were those which were taken to Mr. Col- 
lier's western ranch at Lakeport, Cal., where a con- 
siderable number were bred from this stock by Mr. 
Collier and by Mrs. Wm. B. Collier. Some of the 
descendants of TJmi 2236, one of the foundation mares 



OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE PERIOD 837 

bought from Mr. Dunham in 1884, are now in the 
stud of William Bond, Newark, Cal. 

A. F. McKee was at one time bookkeeper for Mark 
W. Dunham. When he left to engage in farming in 
Missouri he bought some of the Oaklawn mares and 
also took a few on lease. He was not especially suc- 
cessful however, and his Percherons lacked develop- 
ment. 

D. Braymer was a stock-farmer who bought a few 
Percherons from Oaklawn Farm about 1883. He 
bred but few animals, but was a very good judge of 
horses and his selections were above the average. 
He obtained as one of his sires Luther 1272 (1384), 
an extraordinarily good stock horse, but unfortun- 
ately chestnut in color. 

Other States. — Of progress elsewhere some de- 
tails might be given, but for the most part opera- 
tions had only fairly begun in the other states and 
territorities at the end of this epoch. They can 
more fittingly be dealt with later. 



CHAPTER XL 
AN ERA OF PROFOUND DEPEESSION. 

Between 1891 and 1900 the United States passed 
through a period of hard times that is without par- 
allel in extent and duration. All industries were af- 
fected, thousands made bankrupt, and hundreds of 
thousands driven to bitter extremes of poverty. 
Farmers and stockmen were compelled to sell their 
products for less than the cost of production. 

Percheron breeding suffered in common with 
other industries. The gradual tightening of loans 
had curtailed importations as early as 1890 and few 
horses were imported after 1891. The value of work 
horses was so reduced that incentive to breed bet- 
ter horses was largely lost. Good work animals 
could be bought for $50 to $60; purebred mares of 
all draft breeds sometimes sold as low as $100 apiece, 
and stallions proportionately low. Percheron breed- 
ers with well-selected studs representing an average 
cost of $500 per animal or more saw their invest- 
ments shrink to one-half or one-third of that value. 
Many breeders held on until forced to sell; others 
with independent incomes grew weary of the cost 
and sold out at the bottom. Some men weathered 
the storm by allowing the horses to shift for them- 
selves on pasture or range till the tide turned. A 

338 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRKSSION 339 

very few with means and courage bred persistently 
on, exercising the same careful selection of sires as 
in better days. 

In this period the registration of the colts pro- 
duced was neglected. The American Percheron 
Horse Breeders' Association recorded but 479 ani- 
mals in 1894, 539, in 1895 and 392 in 1896. Only 
8,807 American-bred Percherons and 1,490 imported 
animals were recorded in the entire decade, or about 
as many as were recorded in the single fiscal year of 
1914. A large proportion of those which were re- 
corded were foaled or imported before 1890. More 
than 1,000 American-bred animals foaled in this 
period were not placed on the records until many 
years later. 

The depression in value of horses was due to the 
general tie-up in manufactures and in general busi- 
ness which began developing about 1890. This 
culminated in the panic of 1893, when the loss, of 
confidence among money holders was so great that 
it was virtually impossible to raise money on first 
farm mortgages or approved bonds. Building and 
manufacturing were stagnant and prices dropped to 
abnormally low levels. 

The most noticeable direct effect of all this 
was a widespread distribution of Percheron mares. 
Wealthy owners, lacking knowledge of and confi- 
dence in the business, sold out for whatever price 
could be obtained. Others, forced to sell something 
to raise funds on which to live, sold all or part of 
their Percherons. Prices were so low that hundreds 



340 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of farmers bought good, big mares at from $300 to 
$400 per pair, or less, considering the investment 
a good one when the work value alone was reckoned. 
Stallion owners and dealers were pressed into service 
to help sell mares on long-time notes to help relieve 
men whose bands of mares constituted a heavy ex- 
pense for feed and care. J. L. DeLancey, J. M. 
Fletcher and other well-informed horsemen who 
went through the panic agree in declaring that the 
best of Percheron mares were actually bought by 
farmers as low as $300 each — and this for the very 
best stock. Such expansion of breeding as did occur 
between 1892 and 1897 was due almost wholly to 
sacrifice of valuable Percherons by men who either 
had to sell or who became panic-stricken. From 
1897 on there was some improvement in prices and a 
gradual awakening of interest. It was slight, how- 
ever, as is abundantly attested by the lack of interest 
in the breeding classes at the first International Live 
Stock Exposition in 1900. 

What the Figures Show.— In 1890 there were 593 
breeders of Percherons in the United States ; by 1900 
the number had increased to 1,634. Illinois came 
first with 547 breeders; Iowa second with 204; Ohio 
third with 146; Minnesota fourth with 124; Wiscon- 
sin fifth with 83; Kansas sixth with 72; Indiana 
seventh with 64 ; Michigan eighth with 53 ; Nebraska 
ninth with 48, and South Dakota tenth with 47. The 
remaining 246 breeders were scattered through 24 
states and territories, so that more than four-fifths 
of all the Percheron breeders in the United States 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 341 

were located in the territory of the Mississippi and 
Missouri valleys. Nearly half of them were in the 
states of Illinois and Iowa, which explains why these 
two states now contribute 42 percent of all Perche- 
rons bred in America. 

One hundred and fifty-nine mares were imported 
and 114 bred in America between 1871 and 1880; 
2,566 were imported and 2,089 bred in America be- 
tween 1881 and 1890. Roughly speaking, there were 
approximately 5,000 Percheron mares available in 
1891, yet in the decade we are considering only 4,897 
stallions and 4,990 mares, eventually recorded, were 
foaled, and more than 1,000 of these were not re- 
corded until long after the close of the decade. The 
total number of recorded American-bred Percherons 
produced in the 10 years was but 9,887, or an average 
of less than two colts per mare in 10 years for the 
Percheron mares owned by breeders in 1891. In 
view of the fact that mares in farmers' hands will 
normally average two colts every three years it is 
evident that there was enormous waste of Percheron 
resources during this period. The mares averaged 
but one colt each five years. What actually occurred 
was refusal or neglect of farmers and breeders to 
breed their mares, and the castration of purebred 
stallion colts. Besides, hundreds of mares were sold 
without registration, for work purposes only, and all 
traces of them were subsequently lost. 

Incalculable damage to constructive breeding of 
Percherons resulted from the stagnation. Carefully 
selected brood mares, which had been well cared for 



842 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and mated to stallions whose individuality and 
breeding were such as to warrant confidence in good 
results, passed into the hands of men who were in- 
competent judges either of individual horses or of 
bloodlines. A large proportion of the new owners 
Avere poor caretakers and without knowledge re- 
garding the feeding and development of purebred 
horses. Their ignorance damaged the breed. Good 
Percheron mares were mated to stallions that were 
unfit to be used. Bad breeding was followed by 
worse feeding. Feed was low in price, but money 
was hard to get, and the feed given to horses was 
looked upon as largely lost. The result was that 
most Percherons had to survive on pasture, straw, 
some hay and a very little grain. The best live stock 
in the world will be dwarfed and injured in confor- 
mation under such conditions.* 

That Percherons did survive and steadily increase 
in popularity speaks volumes for the hardiness, 
adaptability and easy-keeping qualities of the 
breed. The injury done to intelligent breeding opera- 
tions had some compensations: it placed Percherons 
in the hands of hundreds of farmers who bought 
them at low prices and became cognizant of their 
many sterling qualities by actual experience under 
adverse conditions. 

Oaklawn Farm. — Under Mr. Dunham's capable 
management Oaklawn Farm continued its leadership 



*For conclusive results regarding injury to conformation of 
animals through starvation or semi-starvation rations, see pub- 
lished reports of work done by Dr. H. J. Waters at the Missouri 
and Kansas Experiment Stations. 



A PERIOD OP PROFOUND DEPRESSION 'Md 

in Percheron affairs throughout the hard times. 
Some importations were made each year up to 1893, 
and while many mares were sold, the number kept 
at Oaklawn was considerable. Approximately 200 
mares were owned and kept at Oaklawn or were out 
on lease during '91 and '92. A good many were 
sold in '92 and '93, so that the mares on hand on 
July 1, 1893, totaled but 115 head. On July 1, 1897, 
there were 133 and on May 21, 1901, 89 head. The 
number of colts bred, raised and subsequently record- 
ed was as follows, by years: 1891, 30 stallions and 
23 mares; 1892, 32 stallions and 29 mares; 1893, 21 
stallions and 25 mares; 1894, 10 stallions and 16 
mares; 1895, 13 stallions and 12 mares; 1896, 21 stal- 
lions and 15 mares; 1897, 23 stallions and 19 mares; 
1898, 26 stallions and 35 mares; 1899, 15 stallions 
and 14 mares ; 1900, 25 stallions and 7 mares — a total 
of 216 stallions and 204 mares for the decade. It is 
interesting to note that although in some particular 
years one sex greatly outnumbered the other, the 
total for the 10 years is nearly the same for each sex. 

The chief sires used at Oaklawn in this period 
were as follows: Brilliant 1271 (755), in 1891 and 
1892 (he died early in 1893); Marathon 11410 
(10386), for the season of 1890 only; Brilliant 3d 
11116 (2919), in 1891 and 1892; Aiglon 13145 
(8187), in the years from 1892 to 1896; Introuvable 
16875 (24146) from 1893 to 1896; and Villers 13169 
(8081) from April 19, 1897, to March 15, 1900. 

BriUiant 3d.— Next to Brilliant 1271, Brilliant 3d 
was the greatest of this group of great sires. He 



344 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

was foaled in 1884 and won the highest honors at 
the annual show held by the Societe Hippique Per- 
cheronne de France in 1888. He was bought for 
Oaklawn early in 1889 by James M. Fletcher, who 
did all of Mr. Dunham's buying in France from 
1887 on. At the time of his purchase, he was con- 
sidered the greatest Percheron in France, individual- 
ly and as a sire, and the showyard records of win- 
nings during the past 20 years confirm the estimate 
which Mr. Fletcher and the leading French breeders 
placed on him. More prize-winners trace to Brilliant 
3d than to any other horse used in France or Amer- 
ica since 1886. Individually Brilliant 3d was 
medium-sized, standing about 16.3 hands and weigh- 
ing a little over a ton in show condition. He was 
w^ell-balanced, massive in build, with heavy bone of 
the best quality, and was excellent in action. In 
all-around individual excellence he stands among 
the greatest of the breed. He made three seasons in 
France, 1886, '87 and '88, and probably sired a few 
foals in 1889 before being imported. His colts were 
noted for their unusually high-class type, and it is 
believed that no sire used in the Percheron breed 
ever begot so large a proportion of valuable colts 
and so few inferior ones. 

Plans had been made at Oaklawn to show Brilliant 
3d in 1889 at the Chicago Horse Show, and Mr. Dun- 
ham intended to drive home at this show the value 
of Brilliant blood by showing four generations — 
Brilliant 1271, Fenelon, Brilliant 3d and 19 yearling 
sons of Brilliant 3d imported at the same time. An 



A PERIOD OP PROFOUND DEPRESSION 345 

unfortunate experiment resulted in an extremely 
acute founder which nearly resulted in the death of 
Brilliant 3d and he was ruined for use in the show- 
yard.* He gradually recovered, although he was un- 
fit for stud use for two years. Some colts were sired 
by him in 1891 and 1892, 15 in all, at Oaklawn, but 
he was so badly crippled that Mr. Dunham desired 
to be rid of him. He was accordingly sold on Dec. 
20, 1892, to Avery & Coleman, Wakefield, Kans., 
where he was used for three years and then dropped 
from sight. 

In spite of his foundered condition, the colts sired 
by Brilliant 3d were good, both at Oaklawn and in 
Kansas. All of those sired at Oaklawn were blacks 
or grays, but more than half of those sired in Kansas 
were off-colors — bays, browns and sorrels. The off- 
colors were clearly due to the dams, however, as 10 
out of the 11 off-colored colts were out of top-cross 
mares, bred up and recorded by Mr. Avery from 
some grade mares he bought of the Dillons in 1878, 
The sorrel and bay colors were so strongly fixed in 
these dams that not even Brilliant 3d's remarkable 
prepotency could entirely offset it, and he has been 
unjustly faulted for siring a good many colts not of 
popular colors. 

The colts sired by Brilliant 3d at Oaklawn were 
developed and sold at high prices, those on which 



♦Anxiety to have Brilliant 3d in the best possible condition 
led to tlie use of whole milk, recommended by another breeder. 
Too much was given, probably because of inexperience and tlie 
greediness of the horse. The result "was the most acute case of 
founder ever known at Oaklawn. Heroic measures saved him, but 
he was hopelessly crippled for life. 



346 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

individual prices can be ascertained averaging $812 
each during the time when extremely low prices were 
the rule. The colts he begot in Kansas were not 
developed, were small because stunted, and conse- 
quently sold at very low prices. Despite this they 
grew out and made good breeding stock, quite profit- 
able to their subsequent owners. As a whole, how- 
ever, the chief good done to the breed by Brilliant 3d 
was in France, as the colts sired by him in America 
were too few to make his services here especially 
important. His imported descendants, however, 
have exerted a profound influence on Percheron 
breeding in America. He was unquestionably the 
greatest sire the breed has known in the last 30 
years, when his work in both France and America 
is considered, and his injury just after importation 
was a great loss to Percheron breeding in this coun- 

try. 

Other Oaklawn Sires. — Brilliant 3d's injuries led 
Mr. Dunham to use Marathon freely in 1890. Mara- 
thon was foaled in 1885. He was first in the three- 
year-old class at the annual show held by the Societe 
Hippique Percheronne de France in 1888 and first 
in the aged stallion class at that show in 1889. He 
stood 17 hands high, weighed more than 2,100 
pounds in show condition, and was unusual in his 
muscular development and well-proportioned 
throughout. He was somewhat larger and more 
massive in type than Brilliant 3d, with hardly so 
much finish. Both were grandsons of Brilliant 1271 
— Brilliant 3d through Fenelon and Marathon 




LA FLRTK "HI. — lltdM AX i iLD PHOTOGK.X I'll AT OAKLAWN FARM. 




POWEKFUL, 6670 (BAYABD 7519), ONE OF THE MOST NOTED SIKES EVER 
USED IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THIS PICTURE TAKEN WHEN HE WAS 
26 YEARS OF AGE. 



A PERIOD OP PROFOUND DEPRESSION 347 

through Voltaire — and both were out of daughters 
of Brilliant 1899. Marathon sired colts of great uni- 
formity, much after his own type. He stands seventh 
among the sires in France in number of prize-win- 
ning descendants at the Societe Hippique Perche- 
ronne de France shows from 1901 to 1910. His colts 
at Oaklawn proved to be extra good — ^large, heavy- 
boned, well-proportioned. Before they were all 
foaled, in 1891, C. P. Jones of Minneapolis, Minn., 
came to Oaklawn and secured the assistance of 
James M. Fletcher in purchasing three or four car- 
loads of grade draft mares in Kane and Du Page 
counties. After buying the mares he went to Oak- 
lawn to buy a stallion and would not be put off with 
anything short of Marathon,, then the best individual 
in stud service. He finally bought the horse for 
$3,000 cash and shipped him to Minnesota with the 
grade mares. Marathon did not sire a purebred colt 
after leaving Oaklawn, and his sale was undoubtedly 
a serious loss to Percheron breeding interests there, 
as the sale of Brilliant 3d and the death of Bril- 
liant 1271 removed the only sires at all comparable 
with Marathon, and his absence was keenly felt from 
1893 on. In this case, as in many others where a 
valuable sire is lost, the mistake was not fully real- 
ized until nearly a decade had elapsed. 

Introuvable 16875 (24146), champion at the Co- 
lumbian Exposition in 1893, was used from 1893 to 
1897. He was black without markings and a horse 
of immense size, standing over 17.2 hands high and 
weighing more than 2,300 pounds in show condition. 



348 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

He was hardly as symmetrical as his predecessors, 
and was a bit coarse; but his colts were large and 
sold well, and they have bred on very satisfactorily, 
Introuvable died at Oaklawn Farm on June 22, 
1897. 

Aigion 13145 (8187) was used in the stud from 
1892 to 1896 and sired more colts at Oaklawn than 
any other horse used during this decade. He is gen- 
erally considered the greatest son Gilbert 5154 ever 
sired. His dam, Bijou (4328), was a half-sister of 
La Ferte 5144. She was a very large mare, standing 
about 17 hands high and weighing about 2,100 
pounds. With all her size she was a mare of unusual 
finish and was one of the best mares in France dur- 
ing her time. Individually Aigion was about 16.1 
hands high and weighed about 1,900 pounds. He 
was of a rather blocky type, deep-bodied, massive, 
very, heavy in muscling, and sjonmetrical in build. 
His quality and finish were excellent, and his colts, 
while not the largest, were unusually good and sold 
at high prices. 

La Ferte 5144, previously discussed, was used to 
some extent during this time, but was out on lease 
to M. 0. Brownlee, Little York, HI., in 1893. He 
died in 1895. 

Villers 13169 (8081) was sold to H. A. Babcock, 
Neenah, Wis., and was used by him from 1890 to 
1897. Mr. Dunham was so impressed with the char- 
acter of his colts that he bought him back on April 
19, 1897, and he was used at Oaklawn for four 
seasons. He was about 17 hands in height and 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 349 

weighed over 2,100 pounds in show condition. He 
was an exceptional horse, fine in head with a clean- 
cut neck, well set on, strong back, powerful loin, 
level croup, well-set tail, heavily muscled quarters, 
thighs and gaskins, deep-ribbed, round-barrelled, 
extra well-set legs and good feet. He was heavy in 
bone, with tendons well set back, and was extra 
good in quality and action. As a sire he is out- 
ranked only by Brilliant 3d and Besigue (19602) in 
number of prize-winning descendants, and he un- 
doubtedly did more for the breed in America than 
even Brilliant 3d, owing to longer and more liberal 
service. He had a touch of founder at one time, 
which made him a bit short in front. This was the 
only thing which dissuaded A. L. Eobison, Sr., Pekin, 
111., from placing him at the head of the Leslie 
Farm stud in 1900, and Mr. Robison recently stated 
that he felt he had erred in judgment, Villers being 
one of the most perfect Percheron types he had ever 
seen. Villers was eventually sold to Perry & Porter- 
field, Wayne, Neb., March 15, 1901, but had no chance 
on purebred mares. 

The most noted son of Villers was Jules (37987), 
a horse that was rated as the leading sire in the 
Perche between 1900 and the time of his death. 

Osuklawn Mares ajid Colts. — Mr. Dunham persist- 
ently held to his best mares, save in rare instances 
when it seemed necessary to let a great brood mare 
go to close the sale of a group. The most important 
dams have been considered with the exception of 
Bertha 5340 (7008). She was one of Oaklawn's 



350 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

greatest dams, a remarkable sliow mare and a pro- 
ducer of uniformly liigh-class colts. She raised 9 
colts of record in 13 years, and James M. Fletcher 
states that to the best of his recollection she pro- 
duced more dollars' worth of colts than any mare 
ever used at Oaklawn. Illustre 20489 was one of 
her good sons that later headed the Lakewood stud 
at Eock Eapids, la.; he was sold as a two-year-old 
in 1899 when prices were low for $1,350. 

Some other good colts bred at OaklaAvn during this 
time and sold to head purebred studs were Aleutian 
21977, foaled in 1898 and sold to the Denver Trust 
& AVarehouse Co., and Aurelian 21974, also foaled in 
1898, and sold to head a stud in Minnesota. 

Oaklawn Sales ajid Leases. — Among important 
sales or leases during this period were many to men 
who have since become prominent Percheron breed- 
ers in their respective communities. Some of the 
chief ones were as follows: 

^Y. P. Eeiser, Walla Walla, Wash., on Oct. 10, 
1898, bought a stallion and 2 mares. 

W. F. Mixer, Painesville, 0., in 1890 and 1891, 
bought a pair of mares. 

C. M. Jones, Plain City, O., bought the stud sire 
Moreri 16950 (40246). 

John Yost & Son, Thomville, 0., in 1899, bought 
6 mares and a stallion. 

PI. H. Lewis, Selma, Ind., in 1892 and 1893, bought 
a pair of mares and a stallion; he also leased 11 
mares about 1893. 

Dilley Bros., Hebron, Ind., in 1890, '91 and '92, 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 351 

bought a stallion and 4 mares. They also had some 
mares on lease. 

E. J. Wigle, Kingsville, Ontario, in 1899, bought a 
stallion and 3 mares. 

H. G. McMillan, Rock Rapids, la., in 1899, bought 
a stud stallion. 

Willard & Fuller, Mapleton, Minn., in 1890, bought 
3 stallions and 3 mares. This firm leased 2 stallions 
and 10 extra good mares in 1893, and also leased 
another stallion in 1894. 

M. C. Brownlee, Little York, 111., about 1893, leased 
the stallion La Ferte and 14 mares. This lease ter- 
minated July 25, 1896. 

A. P. Nave, Attica, Ind., leased a stallion and 11 
mares in August, 1897. He bought a stallion and 5 
mares in 1899. 

W. H. Penny, Raritan, 111., bought a stallion in 
each of the years 1890, '91 and '95, and 3 mares in 
1891 and 1899. 

W. L. Houser, Mondovi, Wis., in 1900, bought a 
stallion and 2 mares. 

G. H. & F. A. Reed, Lilylake, 111., in 1897 bought 
a pair of mares, and in 1898 bought another pair 
of mares and a stallion. 

H. A. Babcock, Neenali, Wis., leased 8 mares early 
in the '90 's. 

Elijah AValker, Macon, 111., had 3 mares, and Rolley 
Patterson & Bros., Hunrich, 111., and Harry Dunbar, 
Galesburg, 111., were others who had 4 mares each 
out on lease during this time. 

This does not begin to be a complete review, but 



352 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

it does give a glimpse into operations during the 
depressed times. 

The Great Leader. — Over and above all details, the 
most striking feature of Oaklawn 's work at this time 
is to be found in the personality of Mark W. Dun- 
ham himself. His genius for organization and his 
extraordinary ability as a salesman enabled him to 
maintain the great Oaklawn stud intact in spite of 
tlie financial panic and the hard times. 

When other men could not sell Percherons, or sold 
at ridiculously low prices, Mr. Dunham inspired con- 
fidence in the final outcome, encouraged many men 
to hold on, and was successful in making sales at 
good prices. There was not a season, even in the 
worst years, when he was not well sold out by May, 
so far as stallions of serviceable age were concerned. 
It is true that he did not make importations for 
several years and that his operations were limited; 
but the stallions he raised or bought in America 
were sold at prices that left him a good profit, and 
he was instrumental in causing several wealthy men 
to enlarge their Percheron holdings at a time when 
the vast majority of breeders had given up all hope. 
He had faith, enthusiasm, foresight, and a knowledge 
of human nature which made him more than ever a 
commanding figure in the business when others had 
failed to weather the storm. His death in February, 
1899, aged 53 years, was as great a loss to Percheron 
interests as the death of a general of military genius 
at the critical point in a great battle, for Percheron 
breeding was just rounding into shape for a mar- 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 353 

velous recovery from years of depression. Mark W. 
Dunham's death removed the one leader in whom 
all interests had confidence, the one who could have 
brought order out of chaos in the breeding field and 
in record association affairs. The bitter strife which 
split Percheron breeders into three rival camps and 
did incalculable damage between 1900 and 1911 
would undoubtedly have been averted had he sur- 
vived. No more honorable breeder ever lived, and 
there were few indeed, in any land, who possessed his 
genius for constructive work and his ability to com- 
mand support from all classes of men. Time, giving 
true perspective, reveals him as the great Percheron 
leader of his period, and the fleeting years only in- 
crease the estimate which thoughtful Percheron 
breeders place on his work. 

At the time of Mark W. Dunham's death his son 
Wirth S. was but 21 years old, and the two daughters 
were young. Mrs. Dunham had died some years be- 
fore. It was Mr. Dunham's request that the business 
should devolve on Wirth, but that he should take 
James M. Fletcher and C. R. Coleman into partner- 
ship in the selling organization, retaining control of 
the farm and brood mares under the name of the 
estate. 

James M. Fletcher, a nephew of Mark W. Dunham, 
attained a high place in Percheron affairs. He was a 
horseman by birth and training, and was developed 
by frequent trips to France with Leonard Johnson 
and by association with Mr. Dunham's operations at 
Oaklawn. He spoke French fluently and from 1887 



354 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

to the time of Mr. Dunham's death bought far more 
horses in France than any other buyer. His judg- 
ment of horses was conceded to be second to none 
and he was a careful buyer. Oaklawn's importance 
as a purchaser gave the farm the first option on the 
colts held by the leading stallioner and breeder of 
France, Ernest Perriot, Sr., and on those held by 
many other leaders. Mr. Dunham had well-founded 
confidence in James Fletcher's judgment and integ- 
rity. 

C. E. Coleman had been with Mr. Dunham in the 
early '80 's, had subsequently been in partnership 
with Mr. Avery at Wakefield, Kans., for about a de- 
cade, and had again worked for the Oaklawn organi- 
zation as a salesman. He had formed a partnership 
with James M. Fletcher about 1896 or 1897 and the 
finn had a good many horses in '97 and '98. Mr. 
Dunham realized Mr. Coleman's ability as a sales- 
man, and felt that with Fletcher to handle the pur- 
chasing and Coleman the selling the firm would be 
on a safe foundation, despite the fact that Wirth, on 
account of having been kept away at school, knew 
practically nothing of the business. 

Mr. Dunham's judgment proved true in this as in 
other matters, and the firm of Dunham, Fletcher & 
Coleman, organized in 1899, maintained the prestige 
of Oaklawn until the ripening experience of the son 
enabled him to succeed to sole control of the busi- 
ness. 

Other Illinois Breeders. — Daniel Dunham's stud 
was sold in 1892 or '93. The Ellwoods sold and 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 355 

traded their horses for land so rapidly that they 
raised but few after 1893 and were virtually out of 
business by 1899. The Winter & Hunger stud was 
scattered to the four-winds by private sales in 1894, 
'95 and '96, winding up entirely in 1899. Geo. S. 
Hanna's stud was dispersed, largely by trades for 
faiTii land, in 1892, '93 and '94, and the mares were 
widely scattered. Jesse M. Stetson succeeded to 
most of the Percherons owned by Dr. Ezra Stetson 
on his death about 1895, but Jesse M, himself died 
about 4 years later and most of the stock was scat- 
tered all over the United States by sales held by the 
estate in 1899, 1900 and 1901. 

John and Mat Huston of Blandinsville, 111., began 
breeding Percherons early in the '70 's, but did not 
breed many until after making heavy importations 
late in the '80 's. They kept on during the depression 
and raised 20 stallions and 24 mares during this 
period. Their stock was unusually high-class in 
character, because of the selection of extra good sires 
and dams. Plein-D 'Avenir 11287 (7361), Figaro 
5961 (7708) and Forfait 16873 (28578) were a trio 
of exceptional sires. A large proportion of the colts 
bred by the Hustons went into use on purebred 
mares, which is significant of their high-class type 
and character. John Huston considered Plein- 
D 'Avenir the greatest Percheron he ever saw, indi- 
vidually and as a sire, and while his opinion may 
be considered somewhat biased, it is certain that he 
was an extremely massive, heavy-boned sire, weigh- 
ing more than 2,200 pounds, and a getter of high- 



356 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

class colts. He was crippled while young, which de- 
barred him from the showring, and undoubtedly 
limited his use to some extent. He was a grandson 
of Brilliant 1271, through Childebert 4283 (451). 
Forfait was somewhat smaller and a show horse of 
much finish, somewhat on the type of Gilbert. Ho 
was useful in imparting more style and finish. The 
stud was dispersed in November, 1901, and while 
the stock did much good in the hands of new owners, 
more would have been accomplished had it been held 
intact by John Huston, who was a most observant, 
constructive breeder. 

E. Hodgson and W. E. Prichard, both of Ottawa, 
111., held persistently on, and raised some extra good 
mares during this time, most of which were sired by 
Confident 3647 (397), at the head of the Nagle stud. 
Mr. Prichard used Confident a little more freely than 
Mr. Hodgson did and got more high-class brood 
mares by him. The best animals owned in both 
studs at the present time are daughters or grand- 
daughters of Confident, and both these veteran 
breeders, now in their '70 's, agree in declaring that 
they should have bought the old horse early in the 
'90 's. As it was, his colts raised at Nagle 's were 
stunted and the breed lost much good blood it should 
have received from a really great sire.* 



*M. C. Hodg-son & Sons wrote the following- interesting' note 
in January, 1915: 

"Hattie 2d 23757, foaled in 1899, by Confident, has raised 8 
colts in 11 years, besides foaling 2 which died young. We still 
own 3 of these colts, which we value conservatively at $1,600, and 
have sold 4 of her colts, foaled in 1905, '07, '09 and '10, for $4,400 
— an average of $1,100 each. Three were sold as two-year-olds 
and one as a three. We sold the first colt out of her oldest 




c/. C, Robison ^ ^ [ A.L. RobmnJr. 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 357 

James Brown, Dwight, 111., bred a few good colts 
from 1891 to 1897, but discontinued in 1899. Wil- 
liam Hurt and W. R. Baldwin were among those 
who held on through the dark days, breeding a few 
good ones each year and encouraging farmers in 
their localities to stick to good horses and be ready 
for the tide to turn. 

New Blood. — Much credit must be given to the 
men who had the courage and foresight to found 
purebred studs of consequence during the darkest 
days. Among those in Illinois entitled to special 
mention in this connection are A. L. Robison, Sr,, 
of Pekin, 111., and Dan Augstin of Carlock, 111. 



daughter, Hattie 3d 41634, for $900, and have four other coUs left 
out of Hattie 3d which we value at $2,400, conservatively figured. 
Modesty 70296, the second colt produced by Hattie 3d, was foaled 
in 1909, raised colts in 1912, '13, and '14 and is due to foal again 
in 1915. Lisette 2d 21574, a half-sister to Hattie 2d, also by Con- 
fident, was foaled in 1898, and has dropped a colt every year from 
1901 till 1914 except in 1913, a total of 13 colts in 14 years. Four 
of tlie colts died young, however, so that she has actually raised 
9 colts in 14 years. We have sold 6 of her colts as yearlings and 
two-year-olds — none older — for $5,150 and think those remaining 
are worth at least $1,000. We still have the mare, now 17 years 
old and carrying her 14th colt. She is worth at least $400, con- 
sidering that she is still good for several years in her breeding 
career." 

W. E. Prichard says of his two aged mares by Confident in 
the 1914 Christmas issue of "The Breeder's Gazette": 

"Beauty of Highland 18611 was foaled in 1893, and is still 
living and breeding reg-ularly at 21 years of ag-e. I have sold of 
her direct produce colts to the value of $8,650 and have the old 
mare and 7 of her produce conservatively valued at $6,500. Litta 
17192 was foaled in 1892, and is still breeding- at 22 years of age. 
I have sold colts produced by her to tlie value of $5,850 and still 
have the mare and several of her produce valued conservatively 
at $3,300." 

Both breeders are agreed in declaring- that they have done no 
more than hundreds of other good horsemen can do if they select 
good stock and give it proper care. It must be noted, however, 
tliat both men are dealers as well as breeders, and sold their 
horses direct to the final user, thus eliminating- or absorbing the 
middleman's usual profit. 



358 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

A. L. Robison, Sr., made Ms start in 1894, upon 
tlie urgent insistence of his father-in-law, Wilson 
Eichmoncl. Of the latter Mr. Robison says: 

"He was a. born horseman, always bred and owned 
good horses and for 50 years was never without a 
iyood stallion available for his own use and for other 
brooders. I think he was the keenest judge and had 
the best eye for a sire of any man I have ever known. 
He was confident prices would soon swing back, and 
repeatedly urged me to buy all the good Percheron 
mares I could while prices were low. Some of my 
first mares were bought from him, and it was largely 
Lt his suggestion that I bought Powerful 6670 
(Bayard 7519) in 1889, wlien he was 20 years old. 
He always insisted that a man breeding Percherons 
should, if possible, never place other than a tried 
sire at the head of his stud. His sound counsel and 
reliable judgment were of incalcuable value to me 
in founding Leslie Farm stud. Powerful made our 
stud at the outset, and I subsequently bought Se- 
dueteur 8850 (7057) and Rabelais 52564 (43442), 
both tried sires and horses with the best of breeding 
behind them. The veteran has left us, but his in- 
fluence is still with us." 

To this definite policy — the use of tried sires only 
— the remarkable progress of the Robison stud is 
justly due, and it is questionable whether many other 
breeders in America can point to a record so free 
from mistakes in stud sires used. 

Dan Augstin had been breeding good draft horses 
from sometime in the '80 's, and stepped into the 
Percheron ranks in 1895. He, too, was influenced 
to make purchases while horses were low. John 
Baughman was his first counselor, and Ferdinand 




IMPORTED HORACE 7884, AX GLD-TlirE WINNER ANT> POFUIiAB SIRE IN 



A PERIOD OF PROPOUND DEPRESSION 359 

Basting, Yutoii, 111., and William Hurt, Arrowsmith, 
Ill.j were others whose excellent stock and enthu- 
siastic support of Percherons did much to encourage 
Jiim to make a start in dark days. 

Augstin's foundation stock was drawn largely 
from Ed. Hodgson and William Hurt. He had some 
of Hodgson's mares on lease for a time and also pur- 
chased some. In this case, as in the one previouslj^ 
cited, mistakes were avoided and good foundation 
stock secured by heeding the counsel of experienced 
breeders who had no ulterior motives. These cases 
and hundrds of others which could be given empha- 
size the value of experienced advisors when begin- 
ners are founding studs, and the extreme importance 
of starting right. Countless breeders of live stock 
have rushed in "where angels fear to tread" and 
have found to their sorrow that buying breeding 
animals is vastly different from purchasing sugar or 
salt. 

There are other important breeders in Illinois who 
started during this period, but it is impossible to 
consider all. The number increased materially, espe- 
cially in counties where much stock was already 
available. In McLean county Percheron breeders 
increased to 81; in La Salle to 39; in Tazewell to 
24; in Woodford to 18; in Fulton to 21; in Iroquois 
to 19; in Livingston to 28; in Bureau to 29; and in 
DuPage to 19. North central Illinois had laid the 
foundation which makes it today the most central- 
ized and most heavily stocked Percheron breeding 
district in the United States. 



360 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Progress in Iowa. — The number of breeders in 
Iowa increased from 66 in 1890 to 204 in 1900, more 
than trebling during the hard times. Singmaster & 
Sons, H. G. McMillan, L. H. Humbert, M. L. Ayres, 
William Sprole, J. H. Barnett, L. G. Parker and 
H. S. Hoyman were the leading breeders of this 
period. 

The Singmasters continued operations along the 
same general lines as in the '80 's, but leased a good 
many mares and sold some on a share basis, agree- 
ing to take the first 3 colts at weaning time in full 
payment for the mare. The mares kept at the home 
farms ran out on pasture and received scant atten- 
tion during the hard times, but breeding was kept 
up and many colts raised, although records were 
not kept as carefully as they should have been. The 
breeding was done largely in hit or miss fashion, 
without making special effort to mate certain mares 
to sires best suited to them in type and bloodlines. 
As a consequence the horses bred during this time 
lacked uniformity in type, color and prepotency. 
These faults were so apparent that they have of 
their own weight forced a revision of policy. Prog- 
ress has been marked in later years, but nothing of 
consequence was done by the firm during the '90 's, 
save in the production of a large number of Per- 
cherons. 

J. H. Barnett, whose work has previously been 
touched on, bred 40 Percherons at Chestnut Farm 
during this period. He was one of the best farmers 
and stockmen of central Iowa and his personal 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 361 

standing and popularity were such that he was 
elected to the state senate as a Democrat, although 
the district was strongly Republican. He served in 
the state senate in 1888 and 1890, and his influence, 
admittedly great in Iowa, was thrown strongly in 
favor of Percheron horses. He counselled farmers 
to hold their good mares and to buy more while 
they were cheap. He practiced this himself and 
bought E. A. Noble's entire stud of 26 head in 1897. 
His best colts, on which he won many premiums at 
the Iowa State Fair in the '80 's and '90 's, were 
descended from his foundation mares bought of M. 
W. Dunham Oct. 23, 1882. Itala 1436 was the most 
profitable. She was struck by lightning when about 
4 years old and blinded for life, but raised 10 colts 
of record between 1884 and 1897, and proved to be 
the most profitable mare he ever owned. The best 
sire ever owned by Mr. Barnett was Champagne 2312 
(1117), a bay grandson of Coco 2d (714), bought 
from M. W. Dunham in 1883 by the Warren County 
Breeders' Association, in which Mr. Barnett was a 
leader. This horse continued in use well into the 
'90 's and left some very good stock. Mr. Barnett 's 
influence was at all times for careful, constructive 
breeding, and he gave much needed support to Per- 
cheron interests during depressed times. 

William Sprole was one of the most substantial 
farmers and cattle breeders near Traer, la. He 
began Percheron-breeding in 1886 by selecting a pair 
of the best mares obtainable at Oaklawn. He gave 
$3,000 for the pair. One was a daughter of Brilliant 



362 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

1899. In the next few years he bought some of the 
best mares W. L. Elhvood imported and also bought 
the stallion Superior 14042, bred by Ellwood, to use 
in his stud. He held on throughout the '90 's, despite 
discouragements, and as might be expected from 
the high character of his foundation purchases, bred 
some exceptional colts. He was not a dealer, how- 
ever, and sold most of the colts at modest prices to 
a local trade. James M. Fletcher thought so well 
of the colts that he bought a number of them about 
1897 or 1898 and paid $1,000 for one which Mr. 
Sprole had sold to a neighbor. The good done by 
Mr. Sprole 's operations was far-reaching; he was a 
man of strict integrity, careful in his breeding opera- 
tions, and verj^ influential in his district. The Traer 
district was noted for extra good draft horses dur- 
ing the late '90 's and the early part of this century. 
No small share in this is directly attributable to Mr. 
Sprole 's work. 

L. G. Parker was another Iowa breeder who bred 
some good horses, near Mason City. Although the 
number he raised was not large — 33 in this decade — 
the animals were good and bred on well. He bought 
Cagliostro 11115 (18849), one of the best sons of Bril- 
liant 3d, imported with that sire, and used him to 
good advantage from 1890 till about 1898. Some of 
the best things subsequently owned by G. N. Haugen 
and Martin Tagesen were sired by or descended from 
him. The Parker stud was dispersed shortly after 

1900, but the stock has done much for Percheron 
breeders in northern Iowa and adjacent states. 




\ (James Mauldin \ ^ ^ M.L. Avers \ 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 363 

L. H. Humbert was one of the leading breeders in 
southern Iowa. French himself, he selected some 
very good breeding stock in the Perche. He had 
started before the depression, had faith in the final 
outcome, and held to his good stock through the 
worst years. He ranked fourth in Iowa in number 
of animals bred during this decade, sold most of his 
surplus locally, and did much to encourage others to 
keep on. 

M. L. Ayres, like Mr. Humbert, had started before 
the hard times. He was a rugged farmer, with de- 
cided ideas regarding the values of good horses ; he 
hung tenaciously to his best stock, although the 
panic crippled him to a considerable extent finan- 
cially. Many of the stallions produced by him dur- 
ing the '90 's were castrated, and a great many of 
the mares sold without registration. He kept the 
best, however, and was in a sound position to go on 
when times changed for the better. He handled good 
horses and was one of the best feeders Iowa has 
ever had engaged in the development of Percherons. 
The best sire he used during this period was Said 
4825 (674). Massena 26143 (40251) and Blande 
29259 (36577) were valuable sires used a little later. 
Blande was a son of Brilliant 3d and had been used 
some time in Ernest Perriot's stud. Mr. Ayres 
has undoubtedly exerted a greater influence on Per- 
cheron breeding than any other man in southwestern 
Iowa. He bought and developed a good many 
American-bred colts and always insisted that the 
colts he bought in the district near Blandinsville, 



364 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

111., were heavier-boned, more rugged, draftier 
horses than any he could buy elsewhere. 

H. S. Hoyman, Stanwood, la., bred only 19 Per- 
cherons during this decade, but helped give stability 
and encouragement to Percheron interests in east 
central Iowa, and started a great many others in 
Percheron breeding when times changed for the 
better. 

A factor which cannot be overlooked in consid- 
ering Percheron breeding in Iowa is the influence of 
Percheron sires in communities where there were no 
Percheron mares. Iowa farmers believed in draft 
horses, purchased more Percherons than the farmers 
in any other state except Illinois, and even in dis- 
tricts where only grade mares were available were 
liberal buyers and patrons of the best Percheron 
sires obtainable. Some noted Percheron horses were 
used in the state on grade mares only, and while the 
breed as a whole suffered a loss, farmers in general 
made an immediate gain by having available sires 
good enough in individuality and breeding to have 
been at the head of some of the best purebred studs. 
The record of Brilliant 1899 was an illustration of 
this, and there were numerous others almost as im- 
portant. The ultimate effect, however, was to 
strengthen the esteem of Iowa farmers for Perche- 
rons, and the breed is more widely distributed now 
in that state than in any other. 

Lakewood Farm. — A number of studs that sub- 
sequently became widely known were founded in 
Iowa during the depression. The most important 



A PERIOD OP PROFOUND DEPRESSION 365 

was that of H. G. McMillan, whose Lakewood stud 
at Rock Rapids, la., has furnished more American- 
bred prize-winners than any other stud in America 
in the past 20 years. 

Mr. McMillan had grown up with good horses, as 
his father, located near Washington, la., had been 
a strong supporter of draft horses for farm work 
and a patron of the earliest Percheron sires taken 
to that part of Iowa. H. G. McMillan himself, after 
being admitted to the bar, located at Rock Rapids, 
la., and soon won prominence in law and politics. 
He was a heavy purchaser of farm land, and Lake- 
wood Farm, located near Rock Rapids, comprised 
about 1,000 acres during the '80 's and '90 's. 

To Lakewood Farm Mr. McMillan took some of the 
good mares of his father's breeding — mares which 
had 4 and 5 top crosses by purebred Percheron sires. 
The economic advantage which these heavy draft 
mares had in farm operations impressed him, and 
as he had faith in the ultimate outcome for horse- 
breeding he bought in 1896 the entire Percheron stud 
of J. H. Funk, consisting of about 30 head. 

Mr. Funk had started in the '80 's, while located 
near Dwight, 111. His foundation stock Avas drawn 
from the Dillons, D. H. Vandolah, J. J. Kemp and 
Copeland & Holder. He had selected some of the 
best stock obtainable from these importers and 
transferred his Percheron horses to a fann near 
Iowa Falls, la., about 1890. Here he bred Nubian 
17467, foaled in 1892, the horse at the head of the 
stud when it was purchased by Lakewood Farm. 



366 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Mr. Funk had other business interests and could not 
give personal attention to his Percherons. His men 
had not been good horsemen and he had grown so 
discouraged that he took Mr. McMillan to his farm 
in the winter, when the horses were thin, ill-con- 
ditioned and rough in the extreme, and practical- 
ly forced their sale at a mere song. Despite the 
bad condition of the horses, they had real merit in 
blood and individuality and soon grew into high- 
class horses when put under proper conditions. 
Nubian developed into a very large, massive stallion, 
standing over 17 hands high and weighing over 
2,200 pounds when in good condition. He was fairly 
well-proportioned, and heavy in bone, with flint-like 
quality in cannons and joints. His colts averaged 
well in size and type and were above the average in 
soundness. The mares bought from Mr. Funk proved 
good breeders and one, Myrtha 8133 (12601), was 
one of the most valuable brood mares owned in the 
early history of the Lakewood stud. She was the 
dam of Nubian and of several other good ones. 

The same year, and shortly after purchasing the 
J. H. Funk stud, Mr. McMillan bought about 25 
Percherons from Winter & Munger, Princeton, 111. 
This stud was one of the good ones in Illinois, and 
has been fully discussed in earlier chapters. In this 
bunch Lakewood Farm acquired some very valuable 
brood mares and some good young stock. The Win- 
ter & Munger horses, like Funk's, had been allowed 
to fall into very bad condition, and they were bought 
cheaply, but as in the case of the others, the good 




* S.LKcLser > ' G.W.Phi'llws 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 367 

breeding soon showed itself when feed and care were 
properly given. 

On Dec. 5, 1899, Illustre 20489, bred at Oaklawn, 
was bought to supplement Nubian in the Lakewood 
stud. He was by Introuvable 16875 and out of 
Bertha 5340, and was very good individually, but 
did not prove as effective as had been hoped. 
Through advertising Illustre, however, Mr. McMillan 
discovered Seducteur 8850 (7057) and bought him 
in the spring of 1900. The old horse had been in 
the hands of Jacob Waltemeyer, Melbourne, la., for 
several years and had sired some extra good colts, 
but had not been very sure. He was taken to Lake- 
wood Farm and made seasons there in 1900 and 1901, 
but was sold in the spring of 1902 to A. L. Robison, 
Sr., to head the Leslie Farm stud at Pekin, 111. 

In the fall of 1900, a deal was made for the mares 
and young stock owned by the Upson Farming Co., 
Cumings, N. D. The horses owned by this firm had 
been bred from some of the best stock obtained from 
Leonard Johnson. In this lot were Norma 9672 
(13394) (the mare that subsequently produced 
lolanthe 40925, twice an International champion), 
Gondole 6696 (10862), a. great brood mare, and a 
number of other females. 

This rounded out the foundation purchases made 
for the Lakewood stud in this decade. Three com- 
plete studs, in which breeding operations had been 
carried on for from 12 to 22 years and in which the 
best breeding mares had been retained, were bought 
outright. This took some exceptional breeding ani- 



368 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

mals to Lakewood Farm, both as to individuality and 
bloodlines. From this foundation winners were bred 
and developed. 

Developments in Ohio. — Despite all discourage- 
ments, and in part because of them, the number of 
breeders in Ohio increased from 55 in 1890 to 146 
in 1900, almost trebling during the depression. Al- 
though third in number of breeders, the state stood 
fifth in the number of recorded Percherons produced 
during the decade, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and 
Wisconsin outranking Ohio in the order named in 
number produced. Jones Bros., whose actual work 
was directed by C. M. Jones, retained the leadership 
held since 1864 and bred 53 Percherons during the 
time considered. Several men who had been prom- 
inent during the '80 's dropped from front-rank posi- 
tions, either dispersing their studs, or materially cur- 
tailing their operations, and a number of new men, 
most of whom made their start before 1890, took 
their places. Bell Bros., H. A. Rohrs, Garfield & 
Rudolph C. Green, John Yost & Son and G. C. Steiner 
were the most prominent new breeders. E. J. Condit 
and S. Kendeigh were the only old breeders to hold 
rank with Jones Bros, among the leaders. 

Pleasant Valley Farm. — Small in numbers as Jones 
Bros.' Pleasant Valley stud was, never comprising 
more than 10 mares of producing age, it held the 
lead in the state in numbers and in class of horses 
produced. The stock, as previously shown, was all 
descended from one foundation mare of the right 
kind and the sires were good. Greluchet 11333 



A PERIOD OF PROPOUND DEPRESSION 369 

(21165), already considered, remained in use till 
1898, when he was sold to John Yost & Son, Thorn- 
ville, 0. He was a very prepotent sire and his colts 
possessed real draft qualities. Yost had bred mares 
to him for some time before purchasing, and his 
colts were so good that C. M. Jones later sent a 
number of mares to be bred to him. 

The most valuable sire used in Ohio during this 
period, however, was Moreri 16950 (40246). He was 
the first-prize yearling at the Columbian Exposition 
in 1893 and was bought that fall by C. M. Jones. He 
was used in 1894, '95 and '96 at Pleasant Valley, and 
then was sold to a company at Marion, 0., in which 
Wesley King w^as a leader. Here he remained in 
service until his death. Moreri was black with a 
star, stood about 17 hands high and in show condi- 
tion weighed over 2,200 pounds, or about a ton in 
breeding condition. He had an excellent head, a 
clean-cut, well-poised neck, deep chest, and strong- 
back and loin. His well-proportioned croup was a 
trifle high, and he showed heavily muscled hind- 
quarters. He was a very massive, bold-appearing, 
stylish horse, with a perfect set of feet and legs and 
the best of quality. His colts were characterized by 
good Percheron type, and were sound and clean. 
His daughters stand second to none in the estimation 
of Ohio breeders, and there is no question but that 
he did the breed more good than any other horse 
used in Ohio during his time. Moreri 's greatest son 
was Mark 20288, out of the mare Norma 1779, a 
daughter of Ajax 5. Mark was a massive, power- 



370 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

fully built gray, standing over 17 hands liigli, with 
the style and action typical of his sire. He was 
used for several years by Mr. Jones, and while but 
fcAV purebred mares were available, he sired more 
market-topping geldings than any sire ever used in 
that vicinity. Four of the crack gray geldings that 
drew leather in the gray show teams of Packingtown 
were by Mark, and while none achieved champion- 
ship honors, they gave a good account of them- 
selves. One of these geldings Avas out of a daughter 
of Ajax 5, and one out of a daughter of Greluchet, 
so that Mark's pathway was made easier by the work 
of his predecessors. 

Ruth 20284, later the dam of a ton horse of great 
character used for several years at the head of C. F. 
Camp's stud, was another of Moreri's daughters, and 
Estella 21479, later a showring winner for John Yost 
& Son, was still another. Besides these, however, 
there were dozens of his daughters, both purebred 
and grade, that did splendid service in raising the 
draft horse standard in central Ohio. 

It was not an easy matter for a small breeder to 
pull through the hard times. G. M. Jones in com- 
menting on this says: 

"I was often discouraged and almost ready to 
quit, but I always had faith that the tide would turn. 
Mark W. Dunham Avas to me, as to others, a steady 
support. He counselled me, even in the darkest days, 
to hold on to all my good mares and buy more if I 
could. I Avould not have sold Moreri had times been 
better, but $2,600 for him in 1896 meant more to me 



A PERIOD OF PROPOUND DEPRESSION 371 

than $10,000 would now and I let him go in order 
to hold all my good brood mares. The tide did turn 
at last, and my Percherons have paid well, as they 
will pay any other man who sticks to the best." 

Other Ohio Breeders. — Mention has already been 
made of E. J. Condit, of Delaware Co., 0. He too 
hung on through the depression and raised from 3 
to 5 colts per year, a total of 39 in the decade. His 
Percherons possessed the requisite weight, were of a 
good type, and were utilized by various successful 
breeders. Some subsequent owners, who frankly 
admit they have made good profit in Percherons 
descended from the Condit stud, state that the horses 
were not on the whole as sound and clean as they 
should have been. Despite this, considerable good 
was accomplished by this stud. 

Bell Bros., Wooster, 0., had been importing and 
breeding Shires up to 1890. They engaged in the 
Percheron business in 1893 and have been in it ever 
since. 

H. A. Eohrs of Xapoleon, 0., made his start in 
1886 by importing a mare and a stallion. He had 
previously visited Oaklawn Farm, but could not 
agree on prices, so imported direct. The stallion 
Sapeur 6327 (4484) was of medium size, but well- 
proportioned and proved exceptionally prepotent as 
a sire. The mare, Charlotte 12321 (18182), was much 
of the same type, and proved a valuable producer. 
In 1889 Mr. Eohrs imported Monarque 12315 
(12402), a son of La Ferte 5144 (452), and some 
mares, so that he was well established at the time 



372 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE' 

of the depression. He held out, and had the nerve 
to ship some of his mares away to be bred to Fenelon 
2682 (38) in 1893. The colts produced justified his 
judgment. He later shipped mares to Theudis 25015 
(40871) and Carnot 66666 (66666) with satisfactory 
results. Such work stamps Mr. Rohrs as a construc- 
tive breeder. His operations were small, he did not 
show or advertise largely, and most of his horses 
were sold for use on grade mares, but his contribu- 
tion to Percheron breeding in Ohio was material in 
its stabilizing effects during the panic and is worthy 
of emulation by other small breeders. 

Ohio's breeders, other than those mentioned, were 
for the most part farmers who owned but a few 
Percheron mares. They were too frequently handi- 
capped by not having access to a high-class sire, and 
few had the courage to ship their mares away during 
the period of low prices. The real advancement 
made during this time was therefore slight. 

In Minnesota. — Minnesota dropped to fourth place 
in number of breeders by 1900, but held her former 
place, third, in number of Percherons bred and 
raised. The number of breeders increased from 30 
in 1890 to 124 in 1900. This was a greater propor- 
tional gain in numbers than was made in either 
Illinois or Iowa. A total of 691 Percherons are of 
record as bred in Minnesota during this period. 

The Minnesota Percheron Horse Co., L. C. Hodg- 
son, J. Koester and T. L. & J. L. De Lancey were 
the leaders who survived the hard times. Leonard 
Johnson and George E. Case, whose studs were 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 373 

among the best in the '80 's, were forced to sell, and 
their stock was widely scattered. Many of the good 
animals from these studs went to men who knew 
nothing about Percherons and were virtually lost to 
the breed. Some of Leonard Johnson's best horses, 
however, w^ent to the Upson Farming Co., and later 
did considerable good for the breed. The William 
Mies stud passed into the hands of his sons, under 
the name of William Mies & Sons, about 1894, and 
they continued the business for a short time, but 
closed out before prices recovered. Willard & Fuller 
was a strong firm and had the only prominent Per- 
cheron stud established in Minnesota during the 
depression. 

The Minnesota Percheron Horse Co. had by far the 
most important stud in the state during this period. 
One hundred and five Percherons are of record as 
raised by this firm during the time considered and 
the stud ranked first in Minnesota and eleventh in 
the United States at this time. Niger 4986 (2951), 
already described, continued at the head of the stud 
up to and including the season of 1895. His colts, 
like those of his illustrious grandsire Picador 1st 
(7330), were large, stylish and good in the under- 
pinning. They were sound and clean for the most 
part, and demonstrated the value of the Picador 
blood, noted for these characteristics. Fier-a-Bras 
15746 (13555) w^as put into service in 1894 and 
proved valuable, especially on the daughters of 
Niger. Fier-a-Bras was a black son of Briard 5317 
(1630), and was a large, massive stallion of good pro- 



374 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

portions. He was first in aged class at the Colum- 
bian Exposition in 1893 for Oaklawn Farm, from 
which he was purchased. He continued in service 
throughout this period and eventually succeeded 
Niger as the head of the stud. The use of these good 
sires, with others almost as good, but less important, 
gave the Minnesota Percheron Horse Co. some very- 
good Percherons, and it is much to be regretted that 
the stud was dispersed about the beginning of 
the century. The Paynes, who controlled this great 
stud, had other business interests which finally led 
them to close out their Percherons, but the Percheron 
breeders of the northwest owe them a substantial 
debt for their steadiness and constructive work dur- 
ing a most discouraging period. 

L. C. Hodgson was another who began in the '80 's 
and held on throughout all the lean years. He was 
originally from Ottawa, 111., a cousin of the Dillons, 
and bought his foundation stock of 3 mares from 
Adolphus Dillon in 1884. He removed to Minnesota 
in 1886, taking his Percherons and adding more from 
time to time. The business subsequently passed to 
the sons, now Hodgson Bros., of St. Cloud, Minn., 
so that this stud has been carried on through two 
generations. Sonora 1636 and Marie Keet 1608, two 
of Mr. Hodgson's foundation mares, were probably 
the most profitable he ever owned. Both were reg- 
ular producers of good stock. Marie Keet produced 
Norman Chief 12516, foaled in 1884, to the service 
of French Victor 6088 (6125), then at the head of E. 
Hodgson's stud at Ottawa. Norman Chief was a 



A PERIOD OF PROPOUND DEPRESSION 375 

high-class horse, both individually and as a sire. He 
won first in the aged stallion class at the Minnesota 
State Fair and was made champion over some im- 
ported horses that had won blue ribbons in many a 
hard-fought showring. His only defeat came when he 
encountered Gilbert and 3 of his get in the class for 
get-of-sire. Norman Chief was a black, standing 
about 17 hands high and weighing 1,950 pounds in 
good condition. He was a well-balanced, active 
horse, and proved very prepotent as a sire. He was 
sold about 1894 for $2,000 to South Dakota. The 
price speaks volumes for his merit, when his age 
and the low price of horses is considered. Victor 2d 
12780, sired by Norman Chief out of Sonora 1636, 
was another good sire used, and Richelieu 21567. 
bred by M. C. Hodgson and used a little later, left a 
notable impress on the horses of Eock county. 
While Mr. Hodgson did not breed many Percherons, 
they were above the average in merit and the stud 
has been a valuable one in the northwest.. 

J. & D. Koester, Northfield Minn., was another of 
the smaller firms which held on to Percherons 
through dark days. They did not breed many, but 
their success in the showring attests the fact that 
they had some good ones. The Koesters made sub- 
stantial winnings at the Minnesota State Fair in 
1896, '97 and '98, defeating such exhibitors as the De 
Lanceys and Willard & Fuller in some classes. The 
influence of this stud was valuable because of the 
good quality of the horses owned. 

Belleview Farm. — T. L. & J. L. De Lancey, whose 



376 A HISTOEY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

earlier operations have been discussed, kept on 
through the depression and were persistent exhib- 
itors at their state fair during the '90 's. They did 
not breed many Percherons, but unlike most men 
who were active dealers, did give careful attention 
to constructive breeding. They held their best mares 
and selected their stud stallions with care. Their re- 
sult was colts that made good in the showring and 
the stud. 

The most valuable brood mare was probably Char- 
mante 10931 (20451). She was imported in 1889 by 
the De Lanceys, and raised 9 colts in the 11 years 
1891 to 1901 inclusive. Seven of these were produced 
in consecutive years. Her colts were uniformly 
good, though she was bred to 4 different stallions. 
All 5 of her stallion colts went to head purebred 
studs and 3 of them left numerous purebred colts. 
Klondike 21633 was sold to H. N. Lightley in 1899 
and remained at the head of that stud for about 10 
years; Titus 2d 21634 was sold to H. A. Briggs in 
1898, who sold him to head the purebred stud of 
W. H. Miller at Alpena, S. D. Spuller 2d 23607 
sired some purebred colts in the Uehling & Golder 
stud at Oakland, Neb. All these sons of Char- 
mante were show horses and all weighed more 
than a ton. Charmante herself was a show mare, 
having won second at the Societe Hippique Per- 
cheronne de France show in 1889, and was repeat- 
edly a winner at leading shows in America, even 
when laboring under the disadvantage of nursing 
foals. She was champion mare at the Minnesota 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 377 

State Fair in 1890 and was again made champion in 
1898 after raising 7 colts in the intervening time. 
Her daughters were good also, and one, Charlotte 
21635, won second as a two-year-old at the state fair. 
Charlotte went to the Jean DuLuth Co., and did 
much toward building up that stud. Milena 21636, 
another daughter of Charmante, was also a show- 
yard winner and was sold by the De Lanceys to 
Charles B. Crandall, Kandolph, Minn., in 1898. 
Milena was really owned for a time by Crandall Bros. 
They bred her to Spuller 17123 (20848) and to this 
service she foaled in 1900 the stallion Titian 25925, 
used for a number of years at the head of the 
Crandall & Danforth stud at Eandolph, Minn. 

The chief sires used by the De Lanceys during this 
time were Pluton 10921 (15387), Sophocle 13575 
(20845), Titus 17122 (36778) and Lyceen 21630 
(42509). Lyceen is considered to have done them 
the most good, and his stock, sired in France and 
America, has been on the average of superior type 
and quality. Lyceen was sold to Gr. W. Patterson 
and later went to Jean DuLuth Farm. Lyceen was 
bought by the DeLanceys from Ernest Perriot, Sr., 
and was of Brilliant breeding. Titus was one of the 
best sires used and was a big, rugged, heavy-boned 
horse, weighing more than 2,200 pounds. He did not 
remain long in the Belleview Farm stud however; 
James M. Fletcher bought him about 1896 or '97 
and sold him to Wyatt Stanley, Stronghurst, 111. 
Here he sired some very good colts, including a num- 
ber of purebreds. 



378 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Although the number of horses bred by the De 
Lanceys was small, their influence in Minnesota was 
considerable; they were active in the showring and 
good advertisers, even in the hard times. Their 
horses were of superior merit, especially good in 
the underpinning. Sales were made from this stud 
to Geo. W. Patterson, Crandall & Danforth, H. N. 
Lightley, and the Jean Du Luth stud, as well as to 
numerous smaller breeders, so that a considerable 
proportion of Minnesota studs of the present day 
are founded wholly or in part on purchases made at 
Belleview Farm. 

Willard & Fuller. — As has already been stated, 
the number of breeders in Minnesota increased more 
than four fold between 1890 and 1900. Most of the 
new men did not start till about 1897 or 1898 and 
many did not purchase until later. The only new 
Minnesota stud of any consequence established dur- 
ing the depression was that of Willard & Fuller at 
Mapleton. This stud was really started in 1890, 
when the old show horse and sire Dagobert 5151 
(2431) was purchased, together with a few mares. 
Two more stallions were bought in 1893, and 10 
mares were leased the same year. All foundation 
animals were obtained from Mark W. Dunham. 
Dagobert was the best sire ever used, but Noir Coco 
13163 (20768) also got some drafty colts. Willard 
& Fuller placed great emphasis on size and massive- 
ness and their horses were all of this stamp. 

Mr. R. E. Fuller, a member of the old firm, is now 
located at Redwood Falls Minn., and still breeds 



A PERIOD OF PROPOUND DEPRESSION 379 

Percherons, but on a less extensive scale. He reports 
that Coquette 4366 (5310) was the most valuable 
mare Willard & Fuller ever owned, as she was very- 
typical, weighing over a ton, and her descendants, 
even to the fifth generation, have all developed, or 
give promise of developing, into ton horses or better 
of the right type. Some of the best mares ever 
owned at Oaklawn were held by this firm on lease 
and some of them were later purchased. As a whole 
this firm contributed materially to the development 
of Percheron interests in the northwest. Willard & 
Fuller bred big, rugged drafters of good type and 
soundness, and through the distribution of such 
stock made it possible for farmers to improve the 
general average of their horses. 

In Wisconsin. — Wisconsin made substantial gains 
during the hard times, the number of Percheron 
breeders increasing from 23 in 1890 to 83 in 1900. 
In number of colts raised and recorded the state 
stood fourth, with 602 Percherons for this period. 
The chief breeders were substantially the same as in 
the '80 's. Fred Pabst, H. A. Briggs, H. A. Babcock, 
Gr. N. Mihills and Peter Truax all held on to their 
good stock despite discouragements. R. B. Kellogg 's 
death broke the well-laid plans for his stud, and 
while the business was carried on for some years by 
the estate, constructive w^ork could not be looked 
for. Some of the animals were sold to E. Stetson 
and others, but H. F. Hagemeister obtained most 
of the Percherons and the great sire Baccarat about 
1896 or '97, so that the stud was continued without 



380 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

material changes. All these breeders had faith in 
the ultimate outcome and possessed the means to 
carry their studs through the hard times. Consid- 
erable advertising and showing was done, even in 
the worst years, especially by Briggs and Pabst. The 
horse-breeding interests of Wisconsin were material- 
ly conserved by the stability and confidence of her 
leading breeders. Progress in building up a better 
average class of horses in the state was greatly facil- 
itated by the distribution of good stock horses, which 
persisted, though at low prices, throughout this 
entire period from all her Percheron studs. As a 
consequence Wisconsin farmers were in a sound posi- 
tion when prices did turn for the better and had a 
keen appreciation of the value of Percheron sires. 
So marked was this, that in 1914 more than 74 per- 
cent of all the purebred draft stallions in the state 
were Percherons — eloquent testimony to the sound 
foundation laid by the early breeders of the state. 
In Kansas. — Kansas advanced from 20 breeders in 
1890 to 72 breeders in 1900, and stood sixth in num- 
ber of Percherons raised and recorded during this 
period, with a total of 383 head, Henry Avery and 
his partnership firm of Avery & Coleman and 0. L. 
Thisler were again the leaders. M. D. Covell, J. 
Fuhrman, Thomas McGee, C. Spohr and S. C. Bart- 
lett were others whose studs were founded in the 
'80 's and who had the confidence and courage to 
hold to their Percherons through hard times. Hanna 
& Co., with stock from the long-established stud of 
George Hanna in Hlinois, began making Kansas Per- 




; A. p. Nave ] X [ "D^Amstin 



A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 381 

cheron history in 1895. Wyatt Stanley, one of the 
best Percheron breeders from Stronghurst, 111., was 
another addition about the same time. Both these 
studs had good stock and were controlled by men of 
experience, so that the state was a material gainer 
by their operations. 

The great handicap to draft horse breeding in 
Kansas during this period was lack of feed. Dry 
years predominated. Pastures, never too abundant, 
were burned brown, and were in far too many in- 
stances overstocked. Crops were short, grain cheap, 
and money hard to raise. What grain was produced 
had to be sold to enable the farmer to live, and the 
horses were forced to rely almost wholly on the none 
too abundant pasturage. As a result the Percherons 
produced during this period were almost all lacking 
in size, as must inevitably be the case under such 
conditions. Lack of interest in horse-breeding in the 
state and in states still farther west, which were the 
natural outlets for the Kansas Percheron breeders, 
made it difficult to sell good horses and prices were 
exceedingly low. Even the veteran Henry Avery 
told J. C. Eobison, who went to him in 1897 to buy 
the first Percheron mares for Whitewater Falls 
Stock Farm, that he could take one or all of the 
Percheron mares he owned at $100 a head. In this 
bunch were mares of splendid individuality and 
breeding, though all were lacking in size. Among 
the mares were half a dozen or more daughters of 
Brilliant 3d, now recognized as the leading sire of 
the breed ; and yet they were for sale at $100 apiece. 



382 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HOESE 

Mr. Robison bouglit one, and one only, and has often 
since deeply regretted his own lack of foresight. 

M. D. Covell was in reality the oldest Percheron 
breeder in Kansas; he made his first importation of 
Percherons in 1871, while located in Ohio. His first 
Kansas-bred Percherons were not foaled until 1884, 
and from that time on the stud was very influential 
in southern Kansas. C. L. Covell took control when 
M. D. dropped out in 1893, and the stud was carried 
on by him until after the close of the century. The 
horses in this stud were good, and they formed the 
foundation, wholly or in part, of many of the good 
studs now in Kansas. 

J. W. & J. C. Robison were the most prominent 
new breeders who established Percheron studs in 
Kansas during the years of depression. J. W., the 
father, moved from Illinois to Kansas in 1874, and 
took good grade Percheron mares with him. His 
first sire. Nerval 1369 (794), was bought of G. L. 
Cushman in 1883, and he used Percheron sires con- 
tinually from that time on. His grade mares by 
successive crosses were bred up to splendid type and 
size, and many of them were subsequently recorded 
as French Draft under the top-cross rules. J. W. 
Robison was a horseman reared in the heart of the 
Percheron district in Illinois, and he foresaw the 
inevitable recovery in horse values at a time when 
prices were lowest. Percheron mares were accord- 
ingly bought in 1897, '98 and '99, and from that time 
on until they were numerous enough to justify re- 
liance upon mares of his own breeding. The son, 



, A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 383 

J. C, was taken in at the outset and has continued 
the business since the death of the father. 

There were numerous other breeders in the Sun- 
flower State who began about the same time and 
who have bred good stock. Many quit just a little 
too soon to reap the harvest of their labors, but their 
work has benefitted the breed in the hands of later 
breeders. A notable instance is that of S. W. Mc- 
Millan, Topeka, Kans., who had a few very select 
mares bought from the Ellwood stud. He lost heart 
and sold 6 of them to J. W. & J. C. Eobison in 1900 
for a small sum. In this group was the mare Fine 
13085 (26998), considered to have been the best 
brood mare ever owned at Whitewater Falls, and her 
foal Zaza, Zaza was afterwards first at the St, Louis 
exposition in 1904 and sold to E. B, White for $1,000, 
who considers her the greatest brood mare he has 
ever owned; in 1914 Mr, White had sold nearly 
$10,000 worth of her descendants and had all but 2 
of her female descendants left. Yet this mare Zaza, 
now one of the greatest living brood mares, was bred 
by an obscure Kansas breeder who knew and loved 
good Percherons, but who lost courage when victory 
was within his grasp. 

There were many otlier instances of like character 
in Kansas, and in other states. Such cases were 
unusually frequent in the Sunflower State, however, 
for the reason that good horses of good breeding 
had been taken there and widely distributed, but so 
decreased in size by unfavorable environment that 
their real value was lost to sight for a time. The 



dd A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

breeders of the state have eome back, however, in a 
remarkable manner, and the work done by the men 
who held on during trying times has aided beyond 
calculation in raising the general average merit of 
horses bred in the state. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY. 

The extreme depression in business which had 
prevailed during the '90 's had shown considerable 
amelioration prior to 1901. Business conditions in 
general showed much improvement during the first 
few years of the twentieth century. 

The period from 1901 to 1910 inclusive was 
fraught with momentous changes for Perclleron in- 
terests. The commercial demand for horses of all 
kinds, particularly draft horses, steadily grew. 
With the exception of the year 1908, when some de- 
pression in values occurred as the aftermath of the 
panic in the fall of 1907, prices advanced year by 
year until 1910. Values were at pre-panic levels in 
1909 and made further advance in 1910. 

The purchase of horses for export contributed to 
some extent to the rise in prices, particularly in 
1901, 1902 and 1903. The British were heavy buyers 
on account of the Boer War, and after the war had 
closed made extensive purchases of horses and mules 
in the United States to restock the farms of South 
Africa. The exports amounted to 82,250 head in 
1901, valued at $8,873,845, and in 1902 103,020 head, 
valued at $10,048,046 were taken. The purchase of 
these horses on foreign account had an effect upon 

385 



386 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horse-breeding in the United States that was mucti 
more far-reaching than the figures would seem to 
indicate. The wide publicity attending the inspec- 
tions focused attention on the fact that there was 
a shortage of horses abroad and that the United 
States was the best place in which to make pur- 
chases. Confidence in horse-breeding was gradually 
regained, and the steadily increasing demand for 
commercial horses and the increased prices which 
users of draft horses were willing to pay served to 
strengthen it. Wyoming bronchos that had sold for 
$5 or $10 a head during the '90 's brought $55 in 
1902 for shipment to South Africa. 

The opening decade of the new century saw an 
advance in prices paid for farm products of all 
kinds. Farmers began to bestir themselves to an 
appreciation of the increased yields resulting from 
more thorough tillage of their lands. Improvements 
in agricultural machinery made it possible for one 
man to do more work on the farm; to operate his 
improved machines additional horsepower was re- 
quired. The increase in the number of draft horses 
used in farm work and the increase in the weight 
and strength of these horses, were among the more 
marked developments of this period. The Interna- 
tional Live Stock Exposition, founded in 1900, had 
fairly struck its stride by 1902; its unequaled dis- 
plays of draft horses of all breeds, both in the pure- 
bred and market classes, aroused interest and in- 
spired the leading farmers and horsemen of the 
United States to redoubled efforts in improving the 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 387 

common stock. The waves set in motion by the In- 
ternational extended to the state fairs, which broad- 
ened their classifications and increased greatly their 
exhibits of horses. 

All of these factors combined to focus public at- 
tention upon horse breeding, particularly upon the 
sort of breeding stock which would increase the size 
and weight of the common class of horses. The 
draft breeds all reaped increasing benefit, the Per- 
cheron, already the most widely distributed, best 
known and most popular draft horse in the United 
States, to the largest degree. 

The Actual Increase. — In 1900 there were 1,634 
breeders of Percherons in the United States ; by 1910 
the number had increased to 5,338. Between 1890 
and 1900 only 8,807 American-bred Percherons and 
1,490 imported Percherons were recorded. Between 
1901 and 1910 inclusive 31,900 American-bred and 
10,048 imported Percherons were recorded. In 
round numbers there were approximately 9,000 Per- 
cheron mares available for breeding in 1901. These 
mares, their filly foals and such females as were im- 
ported during the decade were responsible for the 
31,900 American-bred animals recorded during this 
period — only about 3 American-bred colts during the 
10 years for each Percheron mare. As this is below 
the normal production it shows that many mares 
were not bred and that many of the colts which 
were foaled were never recorded. Many were the 
men, particularly the smaller breeders, who had so 
lost faith in horse breeding by reason of the long- 



388 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

continued depression of tlie '90 's that they were 
timid even when prices began to rise and they did 
not immediately grasp the opportunities which lay 
before them. 

The actual experience of one well-known Percher- 
on breeder is a case in point. He attended a sale 
of well-bred Percherons in 1900. The stud was one 
of the oldest in the United States, the management 
had been good, and the mares sold were excellent. 
Yet this breeder, fearing the outcome, bought only 
a few. For those he did buy he paid from $95 to 
$175 each, and within 5 years mares of the same 
breeding and quality brought 5 times that price. 
Large as was the increase in the number of Per- 
cherons between 1901 and 1910, it was by no means 
so great as it would have been had breeders had a 
clear conception of the extent and far-reaching 
character of the commercial demand for draft 
horses. 

Pedigree Publication Suspended. — The decade 
beginning with the panic of 1893 was characterized, 
as has already been indicated, by a depression in 
the Percheron importing and breeding industry so 
profound and so widespread in its operation that 
the association which, up to that period had control 
of pedigree registration in the United States, was 
unable to maintain itself. Meetings were poorly 
attended. Funds ran low. The salary of the Sec- 
retary, Mr. S. D. Thompson, was in arrears, and 
finally through a forced sale of the assets of the 
bankrupt organization he acquired legal title to the 




Geo.W.Siubhlef/e/d 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 389 

books and records. Mr. Thompson maintained an 
office where pedigrees of imported and home-bred 
horses could be filed and certificates issued, but be- 
tween 1898 and 1905 no stud book was actually 
printed. 

New Association Formed. — Interest in the produc- 
tion of Percherons, which had during the dull years 
of the middle and later '90 's receded almost to the 
vanishing point, in the meantime began to revive, 
and on Dec. 23, 1902, at a meeting held in Chicago 
a new organization was formed for the purpose of 
establishing upon a substantial footing and under 
the direct control of owners of Percheron horses, an 
association which should become responsible for the 
further registration of pedigrees, and to promote 
the general interest of the breed. Mr. H. A. Briggs 
of Elkhorn, Wis., presided, and Mr. George W. 
Stubblefield of Bloomington, 111., was chosen Secre- 
tary. The following were named as Directors for a 
term of one year each: Messrs. H. G. McMillan, 
then of Cedar Rapids, la.; W. S. Dunham, Wayne, 
111.; J. L. DeLancey, Northfield, Minn.; C. R. Taylor, 
Williamsville, 111.; A. P. Nave, Attica, Ind.; C. 0. 
Keiser, Keota, la., and H. A. Briggs. The Directors 
met and elected H. Gr. McMillan President, H. A. 
Briggs Vice-President, J. L. DeLancey Treasurer and 
Geo. W. Stubblefield Secretary. At a meeting held 
at the Great Northern Hotel, Chicago, on Aug. 8, 
1903, the number of Directors was increased from 
seven to eleven, and Messrs. H. F. Hagemeister, 
H. W. Avery, G. W. Patterson and C. M. Jones were 



390 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

duly chosen to fill the new directorships thus 
created. 

Old Records Acquired. — At a meeting of this or- 
ganization held in Chicago, Dec. 6, 1904, President 
McMillan said in the course of his address: 

"We are now in possession of all of the original 
books and records heretofore controlled by Mr. 
Thompson. We are the only association having such 
records. We have all records and original data in 
the United States pertaining to the pedigrees of 
Percheron horses, including the original applica- 
tions, affidavits and correspondence connected there- 
with. We are the only society in a position to issue 
accurate and complete pedigrees and that can pub- 
lish a stud book that is full and authentic in all 
respects. We now own all the records. The certifi- 
cates of pedigrees issued by us will be carefully 
verified and can be relied upon as truthfully stating 
the pedigree of the horse to which it relates. We 
propose to issue stud books within the coming year 
that will be a reliable and trustworthy record of 
pedigrees issued up to date. Breeders and buyers 
of Percheron horses everywhere can then verify their 
pedigrees and know when they are being imposed 
upon. 

' ' That the work of our association is appreciated, 
there can be no doubt. A year ago we had less than 
one hundred members; today we have 315. By our 
next annual meeting I firmly believe we will have 
over 500 stockholders. It should not be forgotten 
that our membership represents live members who 
are actually engaged in importing and breeding 
Percheron horses and who have pedigrees to record. 
With our present large list of active breeders and 
importers and being in possession of all the original 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 391 

records and data pertaining to Percheron horses 
our future growth and success is assured and I 
prophesy that it will not be long before we will be 
in possession of the field without serious opposition 
or rivalry. ' ' 

A new era of prosperity and pogress began with 
the organization of this powerful association. With 
the exception of some little opposition growing out 
of the refusal of certain interests, headed by the 
Messrs. McLaughlin, to co-operate in the work un- 
dertaken by the new association, there was a general 
feeling of relief that the further conduct of Perche- 
ron registration in America had now been settled in 
responsible hands. The McLaughlin faction organ- 
ized the Percheron Eegistry Association in 1904, and 
issued five volumes of what was called the Percheron 
Register, in which some 4,800 pedigrees were re- 
corded, but the inclination of breeders and importers 
generally had been to discourage division of energy 
and effort, and by 1911 the general association, now 
known as the Percheron Society of America, so 
dominated the field that the Messrs. McLaughlin, in 
the interest of harmony, gave up their enterprise and 
became affiliated with what was now really a national 
organization, approved by the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture, and commanding the re- 
spect and support of an overwhelming majority of 
all interested in Percheron progress in the United 
States. 

Influence of Dealers and Importers. — The dealers 
and importers exerted a paramount influence in de- 



392 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

veloping the interest in Percherons during this per- 
iod. The existing stock in the United States was 
badly scattered, much of it unrecorded and a great 
deal of it in the hands of men who were giving their 
Percherons no particular attention. Leading dealers 
gathered this stock together and distributed it 
through private sales and public auctions into the 
hands of a large number of new admirers of the 
breed ; they also sold Percheron mares to many small 
breeders who lacked the means and acquaintance- 
ship necessary to seek out and assemble them. In 
many instances dealers bought fillies or young mares, 
bred them to their own stallions and sold them as 
bred mares, thereby receiving credit for breeding a 
vastly larger number of animals than they would 
otherwise have had. 

Importers reaped an unprecedented harvest. G-ood 
imported stallions were syndicated all over the 
United States and Canada on the company plan at 
prices ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 each. These 
prices were abnormal, but importers justified them 
on the ground of the heavy expense involved in 
placing horses by this method and on the additional 
plea that most of the horses were sold on long-time 
payments. This plan of selling horses did result 
in distributing thousands of high-class stallions 
throughout the United States. The larger portion 
of these went into communities where they were 
bred exclusively to grade mares, so that the Per- 
cheron breed lost the services of many of the best 
breeding stallions brought over during this time. 




CALYPSO 25017 (44577), FIKST-PRIZE THREE -YEAR -(ILD BTALLIOX AND 
BESEBVE CHAMPION AT THE INTERNATIONAL LTV'E STOCK EXPOSITION 
IN 1900. SIRED MORE INTERNATIONAL PRIZEWINNERS THAN ANY 
OTHER SIRE USED IN AMERICA BETWEEN 1901 AND 1912. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 393 

This loss was compensated in large degree by the 
general improvement wrought upon the grade 
horses of the country. The progeny of these sires 
proved so much more valuable in farm work and 
sold for so much higher prices that farmers were 
awakened to the worth of Percheron sires. This in- 
creased the demand for Percheron stallions, whether 
bred in America or imported from France, and led 
many other men to establish small studs of Percheron 
mares. The work of the importers, therefore, re- 
sulted in a widespread and marked improvement in 
the character and value of the common horses bred in 
the United States, and also caused a general expan- 
sion in Percheron breeding on this side of the water. 

The large exhibits of Percherons made at the 
leading fairs by importers and dealers also proved 
a potent factor in educating farmers in Percheron 
type and aided materially in popularizing the breed. 

The Development by States. — Illinois, as was to 
be expected, showed the greatest increase in the 
number of breeders during this period, there being 
1,476 by 1910. Iowa was second with 860, Ohio third 
with 471, Kansas fourth with 319, Indiana fifth with 
284, Minnesota sixth with 279, Wisconsin seventh 
with 269, Nebraska eighth with 229, South Dakota 
iiinth with 171, and North Dakota tenth with 160 
breeders. 

Illinois, Iowa and Ohio, the pioneer states in Per- 
cheron breeding, had more than half of the Percher- 
ons in the United States by 1910. Percheron breed- 
ing naturally increased most rapidly where the 



394 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horses were already in most general use and where 
their value was best known. It is significant, how- 
ever, of the widespread interest in Percherons to 
note that the breeders were scattered over 41 states 
and Canada by 1910. 

In Illinois. — Oaklawn maintained its position as 
the leading Percheron breeding establishment in Illi- 
nois during this period. Selling horses proved so 
much more profitable than breeding them that a 
large number of the Oaklawn mares were sold and 
the breeding operations were materially curtailed. 
Nevertheless, 162 Percherons bred at Oaklawn were 
recorded during this period. Every effort was made 
to keep the best sires available in service; Theudis 
25015 (40871), one of the best-known sires in France, 
was imported in 1900 and placed at the head of the 
stud. He had been for some time the stud sire of 
M. Tacheau, the younger, at whose establishment 
he had divided honors with his sire Besigue (19602). 
Theudis' get had won high honors in France and 
many of the best stallions imported in the late '90 's 
and the early years of the new century were sired 
by him. His get won first and third at the Inter- 
national Live Stock Exposition in 1901, beating the 
get of Jules (37987), another of the well-known 
contemporary sires of the breed. Theudis was an 
eight-year-old when imported. He was one of the 
largest of the sons of Besigue, a stallion of great 
substance, standing about 17 hands high, and weigh- 
ing approximately 2,200 pounds in show concjition; 
he was very deep-bodied, massive and well propor- 




BESI&XIE (19602), ONE OF THE GBEAT SIKES USED IN FKANCE BETWEEN 
1S93 AND HIS DEATH IX 1904; VERY PREPOTENT. PICTURE TAKEN 
WHEX HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD. HE DIED ON WATER EN ROUTE TO 
AJIERICA IN 1904. 




iMABB SUZANNE (81567)— WINNER AT liEADING FEISNCiH SHOWS. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 395 

tioned, with excellent quality, symmetry, style and 
action. Three of Theudis' sons, Calypso, Rabelais 
and Casino, subsequently headed the Lakewood, 
Leslie Farm, and the Whitewater Falls Farm studs, 
and practically made the reputations of those breed- 
ing establishments. Unfortunately Theudis had 
seen very heavy service in France and was not a 
sure, getter after being imported. He made but two 
seasons at Oaklawn and died Oct. 1, 1902, at 10 
years of age. His failure to round into breeding 
form after importation was undoubtedly a distinct 
loss to the breed, as his colts were high-class in 
character and had more size than most of the grand- 
sons of Besigue. 

Invincible 22715 (38109), a black stallion of un- 
usual size and scale, was also used at Oaklawn for 
a time. He was bred from the M. Lefeuvre stock 
and weighed in breeding condition 2,200 pounds. 
He left a number of colts of excellent type at Oak- 
lawn. 

Picador 27370 (48373), a winner of second prize 
in the aged class at the International Live Stock 
Exposition in 1901 and 1902, was also used to some 
extent. He was black, of the Picador strain and was 
an extremely deep-bodied, massive, powerfully 
muscled sire. He was so wide and thick as to give 
the impression of being lowset; he stood almost 17 
hands high, however, and weighed 2,250 pounds in 
show condition. With all his size. Picador possessed 
symmetry and style, but was somewhat deficient in 
straightness of action. Among his progeny at Oak- 



396 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

lawn was the mare Britomart 40427, which subse- 
quently won the championship at the International 
Live Stock Exposition in 1905. 

Picador was succeeded by Pink 24765 (47513), a 
grandson of Besigue. Pink was the most noted show 
horse that ever headed the Oaklawn stud; indeed 
he probably was the most noted Percheron to grace 
our showrings during the decade. He won first place 
as a three-year-old at the Iowa and Minnesota State 
Fairs and at the International Live Stock Exposi- 
tion in 1903, and was the grand champion at Minne- 
sota and the International. He was first as an aged 
stallion and champion at the International in 1904, 
and stood second in the aged classes at the Inter- 
national in 1905 and 1906 despite heavy seasons in 
the stud. He remained at the head of the Oaklawn 
stud and in active service from the spring of 1904 
until 1911, when he was sold to E. W. Bradshaw of 
Canada. Individually Pink was considered by many 
good judges to be well-nigh perfect as a Percheron 
type. He stood 17 hands high and weighed 2,100 
pounds in fair condition. He was very deep-bodied, 
strong-backed, well ribbed down in the hind flank, 
and a model in the set of his legs from front, side 
and rear. His symmetry was faulted by a slight 
droop in the croup, but this was not marked, and 
in general proportions, style and finish he was one 
of the most remarkable horses of the period. His 
quality was extraordinary, as his cannons and joints 
were clean-cut, his skin fine and the bones of) his 
head as clearly outlined as in any Thoroughbred. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 397 

Pink's colts, as a rule, were very uniform, early 
maturing and exceptionally good sellers. Mr. Dun- 
ham states that none of his stallion colts had to 
be kept past 2 years of age and that very few of 
them sold for less than $1,000. They matured into 
large, massive horses. Many of the mares sired 
by Pink weighed more than 2,000 pounds in breed- 
ing condition. One of his sons. Pink Borodino 
57905, out of the champion Britomart, a daughter 
of Picador, went to head the H. I. Messinger stud, 
where he rendered excellent account of himself. A 
daughter of Pink, the mare Pink Mirabella 57902, 
out of the champion mare Mouvette 30012 (43850), 
was second in the open classes and champion Ameri- 
can-bred mare at the 1913 International. Another 
daughter. Pink Brillante 57897, foaled 1908, raised 
foals from 1911 to 1915 inclusive. Her 1916 foal, 
past 2 months old, was accidentally killed. The 
mare, though thin, won the championship at the 
Iowa State Fair and was later champion Percheron 
female at the 1916 InternationaL Many of the sons 
of Pink have been used on purebred mares with 
excellent results, and the value of his blood is now 
adequately recognized. 

It is difficult to particularize as to the females in 
any breeding stud, but some of the brood mares 
owned at Oaklawn during this period are worthy of 
special mention: Jeanne D'Arc 17894 (37422) was 
champion at the International in 1900. Linda 12986 
was champion in 1901. Mouvette was champion in 
1903. Britomart, the daughter of Picador, bred at 



398 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Oaklawii, was clianipion in 1905. All of these mares 
were valuable breeding matrons, as were numerous 
others not selected for showyard fame. 

Oaklawn Farm gave special prominence to ex- 
hibits of Perclierons at the leading state fairs and 
at the International, being one of the most consistent 
and heaviest winners of prizes at the Internationals 
of 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1904 and bringing out the 
champion stallion for 4 successive years. A large 
number of the prizes and the reserve champion ship 
in stallions were Avon in 1905 and 1906, while the 
mare championships fell to this stud in 1901, 1903 
and 1905. Showing was discontinued in 1907, 1908 
and 1909, but the Oaklawn entries were back in the 
ring in 1910. The large and well fitted exhibits of 
Perclierons from Oaklawn Farm spurred others to 
greater exertions and stimulated draft horse im- 
provement generally. Extensive publicity in the 
agricultural journals supplemented the showyard 
advertising. 

John C. Baker was one of the large Illinois breed- 
ers of this period. Hercules 19985 Avas his chief stud 
stallion. He Avas a gray, foaled in 1904, and was 
out of a daughter of Brilliant 1271. He Avas a very 
large, massiA^e type; possibly he lacked a bit in sym- 
metry and finish, but his colts were large, drafty 
and good sellers. So good was Hercules that he 
went to the stud of S. S. Russell & Sons Avhen 14 
years of age. He was also used by Stetson Bros., 
Neponset, 111. Mr. Baker bred a large number of 
Perclierons, but buyers complained that he was not 




1X1110)87219 (S315S), BBSEU\ h ClIAMl'Ki.X, t lUL'AGO IMLilXATlONAX., 1910. 




PINK 24765 (47513), CHAJrPION STAIXION. CHICAGO IXTERNATIOXAL, 1903-04. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 399 

a good caretaker and that his colts were not so well 
developed as they should have been. This, coupled 
with the fact that Mr. Baker did not exhibit at the 
fairs to any extent, undoubtedly lessened the in- 
fluence of his stud. 

Dan Augstin bred a total of 150 Percherons during 
this period and raised most of them himself. They 
were by a number of different sires. Mr. Augstin 
was located in a community where there were many 
stallions above the average in merit, and he mated 
his brood mares with many different horses besides 
those owned by himself in an attempt to obtain the 
best results. 

Kellermann 10715 (20594) was one of the sires used 
to advantage on Mr. Augstin 's mares, and his son 
Absolom 27014 was also of decided value. Keller- 
man was a black, imported in 1889 by W. L. Ell- 
wood and purchased shortly after by L. F. Stubble- 
field. He was of Favori and Coco breeding, a horse 
of great scale and substance, a bit on the rugged 
type, weighing about 2,200 pounds in good condi- 
tion. He sired 53 purebred colts in the McLean 
county district, A large number of purebred colts 
left by Kellermann were bred in the stud of Mr. 
Augstin, although Wm. Hurt & Sons, L. F. Stubble- 
field, several other members of the Stubblefield fam- 
ily, S. Noble King, and H. M. Rollins had colts by 
him — Hurt and King even more than Augstin. 

Absolom by Kellermann was also used by Dan 
Augstin and some of the best mares which he re- 
tained were sired by this horse. Coquette 50404, 



400 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the most noted show mare ever bred in the Angstin 
stud, was one of Absolom's daughters; her colts 
were always of showyard character. One of them, 
Roseland 87467, was second in the open class at the 
Illinois State Fair in 1914 and the champion mare 
bred by exhibitor. 

Kimberly 25726 (44616), imported by Dunham, 
Fletcher & Coleman in 1901, was for some time at 
the head of the Stubblefield stud. He was freely 
used by Mr. Augstin, and to good advantage. He 
represented a most unusual and desirable combina- 
tion of bloodlines, as he was a son of Besigue and 
had for dam Biche 44501, a daughter of King of 
Perche 4975 (6738). King of Perche will be remem- 
bered as one of the most famous horses in the Ell- 
wood stud in the '80 's, and Besigue was the ranking 
sire in France between 1893 and his death in 1904. 
Kimberly was a large, powerfully-built, rugged 
horse, standing over 17 hands high. He weighed 
2,560 pounds at one time when in show condition and 
in breeding flesh scaled 2,200 pounds. He left 35 
purebred colts, a number of which were in Mr. Aug- 
stin 's stud. 

Roland 42911, bred by C. W. Hurt but purchased 
in dam by Mr. Augstin, was the most valuable sire 
used after 1906. The horses produced in the Augstin 
stud were of the thick, massive, drafty kinds, in- 
clined to be a little lowset, and of the *' Dutchman's 
type, ' ' but a rugged sort and valuable for breeding 
purposes. The care and management which Dan 
Augstin gave his horses was decidedly above the 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 401 

average and the colts had an opportunity for full 
development. 

L. F. Stubblefield, McLean, 111., did not breed 
nearly so many horses as many of his contempo- 
raries, but his work was constructive in a high de- 
gree. The sires Kellerman and Kimberly headed 
this stud for a time and left a number of excellent 
colts. Some of the best mares retained in this stud 
were by those sires, and the Kellerman blood has 
been particularly valuable in the production of Per- 
cherons of showyard caliber. 

Forfait Jr. 40974 was placed at the head of the 
Stubblefield stud in the spring of 1908 and was used 
to good advantage. He was not of the largest type, 
but stood 16% hands high, and weighed a ton in 
show condition. He was very deep-bodied, well- 
ribbed, and powerfully-built throughout, with an 
unusually good set of legs, excellent feet, and rare 
quality. He was fortunate in having an unusual 
lot of mares in his harem, daughters of Kellermann 
and Kimberly, and his colts were uniform in style 
and of superior character. A number of them have 
won honors in the leading showrings. The mare 
Elsie 94834 was one of the good daughters of For- 
fait Jr. She was out of a daughter of Kellermann 
and was good enough to win fourth in the open 
class for two-year-old mares at the Illinois State 
Fair in 1914. 

The three sires, Kellermann, Kimberly, and For- 
fait Jr., were responsible for the improvement in 
Mr. Stubblefield 's Percherons during the decade 



402 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and marked progress was evidenced at each suc- 
cessive cross. The quiet, persistent accomplish- 
ments of this stud had a telling effect upon breeders 
conversant with L. F. Stubblefield 's work, and the 
influence of this collection has undoubtedly been far 
greater than that of many contemporary establish- 
ments of greater numbers. 

H. I. Messenger, Lockport, 111., bred 109 Perche- 
rons foaled during this decade, nearly all of which 
were raised by himself. Morse 22714 (40383), one 
of the good sons of Besigue was used with success 
and added materially to the size of the Messenger 
stock. Extrador Jr. 12569 and Rochefort 29886 
(45787) were used to some extent, and the stallion 
Charlemagne 41259 (Hang 52519) also did good serv- 
ice in this stud. 

Pink Borodino 57905, a son of Pink out of the 
champion mare Britomart, was bought by Mr. Mes- 
senger from Oaklawn as a foal, and from the time 
he became old enough was at the head of the stud. 
His colts possessed size, 'good conformation and 
soundness. In earlier years Mr. Messenger did not 
feed his colts liberally enough to permit of the best 
possible development, but they have gone on well in 
the hands of new owners and have rendered excel- 
lent service. Mr. Messenger did relatively little ex- 
hibiting at fairs and no advertising until after 
1910, so that the stud really exerted less influence 
than the merits of the animals justified. 

The Leslie Farm stud founded by A. L. Robison 
& Sons, Pekin, 111., during the period of depressed 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 403 

values in the '90 's, was another breeding establish- 
ment that exerted material influence upon Percheron 
development during this period. Powerful 6670 
(Bayard 7519), purchased in 1897, was continued 
in service until his death. He was a tried sire with 
a wide reputation when he went to head the Leslie 
Farm stud, and his colts were large, well-propor- 
tioned and good breeders. When the Powerful fil- 
lies became old enough to breed Mr. Eobison cast 
about to obtain another sire and finally decided 
tJiat Seducteur 8850 (7057) was the horse he wanted. 
Seducteur had made a great showyard record while 
in the hands of W. L. EUwood, and after 8 years' 
service, chiefly on grade mares, had passed into the 
hands of H. Gr. McMillan at Lakewood Farm. Mr. 
Eobison went to Iowa in the spring of 1902 deter- 
mined to buy the horse, although he was then 18 
years old and known to be an uncertain breeder. 
After laboring all day in an attempt to obtain a 
price on Seducteur Mr. Eobison finally succeeded in 
inducing the owner of the Lakewood stud to place 
a figure on him. The price was purposely placed 
so high that it was thought to be prohibitive. Noth- 
ing daunted Mr. Eobison bought the horse and 
shipped him to Leslie Farm, where he remained in 
service until his death in 1905. While he sired but 
few colts, those he did beget were of superior char- 
acter, possessing great size, symmetry and rugged- 
ness. 

On the death of both Powerful and Seducteur 
within a few months of each other in 1905 search 



404 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

had to be made for a new sire. The Robison policy 
of obtaining tried sires had proved so successful 
that it was continued. Every horse-buyer of note 
in Illinois was communicated with and attempts were 
made to locate stallions that already had proved 
of more than average merit in improving horses 
in the communities where they had been standing. 
After long search and the following of many blind 
trails Eabelais 52564 (43442), foaled in 1897 and 
imported in 1899, was located. He was a son of 
Theudis, of Oaklawn fame, and out of Biclie (28196), 
a daughter of Seducteur. Mr. Robison and his son 
Archie rode for 3 days looking at the grade colts 
which this horse had sired; he had not been used 
on any purebred mares. At the conclusion of this 
careful investigation it was concluded that if Rabe- 
lais would prove as prepotent on purebred mares 
as he had already proved on grade mares, he was 
exactly what the Leslie Farm stud wanted, and 
as he was of exceptional breeding and closely akin 
in bloodlines to the horses already in the stud he 
was purchased and placed in service at Leslie Farm 
in 1906. Results were all that had been hoped. 
Rabelais' colts were uniform in type, possessed 
ample size, and were of the deep-bodied, well-ribbed, 
massive kind, heavy in bone and of very drafty 
type. He remained at the head of the stud until 
his death in 1914. 

The use of these 3 tried sires resulted in steady 
improvement at Leslie Farm. Very few studs made 
more consistent progress in improving the weight, 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 405 

size, style, symmetry and quality of tlie Perclierons 
produced. The care and management of the young 
animals was far above the average, with the result 
that a large proportion of the colts bred and raised 
at Leslie Farm were sold as weanlings and yearlings 
at prices far in advance of the usual figure. Little 
was done in exhibiting at leading shows during this 
period, but the influence of the breeding operations 
carried on at Leslie Farm was widespread. Special 
attention was given to the encouragement of small 
breeders in the immediate vicinity. The result was 
the development of a large number of small breed- 
ing establishments founded on purchases made at 
Leslie Farm and the general improvement of all 
horses within the Tazewell district. 

Numerous other breeders have contributed mate- 
rially to the upbuilding of Percheron interests in 
Tazewell county, but men best acquainted with the 
rise of Percheron breeding in that territory are free 
to concede that Leslie Farm has led in the develop- 
ment of the Tazewell country as a Percheron center 
until it now stands second in the United States in 
that regard. 

M. C. Hodgson and W. E. Pritchard, both of 
Ottawa, 111., whose operations have been reviewed 
at length in preceding chapters, continued their 
Percheron-breeding operations during this period 
and made material progress. No sires of special 
prominence were in service in the Hodgson stud 
during this period; most of the stallions were of 
Hodgson breeding and used for a short time. This 



406 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

procedure was not calculated to develop sires of 
reputation, but the animals produced gained steadily 
in size and draft character. 

"Billy" Pritchard also used stallions of his own 
breeding during most of this time. Sultan 41622, 
out of a daughter of Confident 3647 (397), was one 
of the best. The stallion Noirot 62489 (67573) was 
imported in 1909 to head the stud and gave good 
results, although criticized by many breeders on the 
score of coarseness. 

Both Pritchard and Hodgson were persistent ad- 
vertisers and exhibited at many shows. Both did 
considerable dealing in addition to their breeding 
operations, and were thereby enabled to place the 
horses of their own breeding at prices considerably 
higher than the majority of breeders obtained, as 
they sold direct to the ultimate user instead of to 
dealers. 

The Stetson stud at Neponset, 111., and that of 
Russell & Sons, at the same place, both bred some 
good Percherons during this period, although the 
number was not particularly large. 

The sires in the Stetson paddocks during this time 
did not nick so satisfactorily with the mares as was 
desired ; few of the colts were as good as their dams. 
Most of the mares kept in the stud during this period 
were daughters of Feamaught 16302, son of Bac- 
carat 11326 (18639), the famous head of the Kel- 
logg stud. The daughters of Fearnaught were 
roomy, well-proportioned mares, ranging from 1,700 
to 2,000 pounds in weight, with unusual quality and 




STALIJOX BAimOCHEfR (0201S)— PRIZEUIXXER AT FRENCH SHOWS. 




MARE ERICA (68318)— PBIZBWINWER IN FRANCE. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 407 

finish. They were particularly good in the under- 
pinning, and as the owners themselves expressed it, 
were a better lot of mares than most of their daugh- 
ters proved to be. This was undoubtedly due to 
failure to obtain the right sire to nick with the 
daughters of Fearnaught. Despite this, many ex- 
cellent Percherons were sold from this stud and it 
contributed materially to the breed's improvement. 

Russell & Sons did not breed extensively, but the 
horses they produced were a good, useful sort, of 
very drafty pattern. The foundation laid during 
this period was so sound that at the first and only 
exhibit made by the firm at the International Live 
Stock Exposition in 1913 first and third prizes in the 
futurity stakes were won on stallions of their own 
breeding. 

William Rumney, Somonauk, 111., bred a number 
of Percherons during the decade, but did not give 
any special attention to their development. Buyers 
complained that his colts had not been well nur- 
tured, and w^hile later they grew into useful horses, 
lack of feed and care undoubtedly detracted from 
their influence on our horse stocks. 

Important Illinois Dispersions. — The dispersion 
of the studs of Wyatt Stanley, Stronghurst, 111., 
and of John Huston, Blandinsville, 111., in No- 
vember, 1901, were important events. The Stanley 
stud had been established in the '90 's by the pur- 
chase of an excellent group of Brilliant-bred mares 
and the stallion Titus 17122 (.36778). Titus was 
a big, rugged, heavy-boned, massive draft horse. 



408 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

weighing more than 2,200 pounds, and his colts were 
of the same pattern. Buyers of these animals came 
from a wide territory, and a number of breeders 
were among the leading purchasers. G. H. & F. A. 
Reed, Lilylake, 111., G. W. Patterson, Worthing- 
ton, Minn., J. W. & J. C. Eobison, Towanda, Kans., 
and W. S. Dunham, Wayne, 111. were prominent 
among the buyers, especially of mares. The entire 
lot of 34 head, including young, old and blemished 
animals, sold for $11,117, an average of $327.50 per 
head. 

The John Huston sale was held on the following 
day. Mr. Huston's work as an importer and breeder 
during the '80 's and '90 's was well known and the 
attendance at this sale was more numerous and from 
more widely scattered territory than at the Stanley 
sale. The dispersion of this stud was the culmination 
of 25 years' work with Percherons, and Percherons 
only. Mr. Huston had bred persistently for the tip- 
standing, drafty sort, with special emphasis on un- 
derpinning and quality. His horses were of the 
large pattern, the stallions standing about 17 hands 
high, and the mares 16l^ hands high, or more, yet 
well proportioned. In the opinion of the horsemen 
present at the vendue it was doubtful whether half- 
a-dozen of the best mares could have been duplicated 
in America for size, weight, bone and quality, and 
the other matrons were not far behind the tops. 
A. P. Nave, Attica, Ind., was one of the heaviest 
buyers, and added some grand breeding matrons to 
the stud he had previously started. Isaac Agen- 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 409 

bright, G. W. Patterson, J. H. Barnes and Granville 
Kesling were active in the bidding and obtained a 
number of animals. Thirty-four head sold for 
$11,405, an average of $356.55. 

These two sales distributed some of the best Per- 
cherons to be had among a number of new studs 
and encouraged Percheron breeders generally. The 
wide publicit}^ given to these auctions and the crowd 
of buyers from all parts of the country which as- 
sembled to bid on good Percherons gave notice to 
breeders that conditions had changed, and that many 
men had confidence enough in the outcome of the 
horse business to pay good prices for Percherons. 

■New Studs Founded in Illinois. — Hundreds of 
new breeding establishments were' started in Illi- 
nois during the period under discussion. It is 
impossible to mention all of these. One of the most 
important was at Gregory Farm, Whitehall, 111., by 
W. S. Corsa, whose later operations in the Percheron 
field have made him one of the best-known breeders. 
Gregory Farm required a number of draft horses for 
general farm work and many heavy mares were 
in use on Mr. Corsa 's farm in Nebraska. Cocardos 
16949 (35219), the black son of Brilliant 3d, was 
bought by Mr. Corsa and placed at the head of his 
Nebraska bunch of grade mares. Mr, Corsa did 
not at that time know that Cocardos had won first 
prize in the three-year-old class at the World's 
Columbian Exposition in 1903, neither did he know 
that he was the sire of the noted stallion Lyceen 
21630 (42509) and other good ones. Cocardos' get 



410 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

out of the grade mares in Nebraska were of super- 
lative excellence and Mr, Corsa often has regretted 
since that he did not know this stallion's true value 
in time to use him on purebred mares. Radziwill 
27328 (44228) was purchased in the fall of 1901 
or spring of 1902 to use on the mares at Gregory 
Farm. He had been imported by Dunham, Fletcher 
& Coleman and shown at the International in 1901, 
where he attracted much attention. The use of 
these two sires on the grade mares at Gregory Farm 
and at the farm in Nebraska impressed Mr. Corsa 
most favorably, and having noticed a rapidly in- 
creasing demand for Percherons he determined to 
purchase a few purebred mares. The first purchase 
of mares was made from H. S. Hoyman & Son in 
1903, when Electress 31729 and Bona 31730 were 
purchased. Lucretia 19582 was bought about the 
same time. Some good mares were bought from 
Parsons & Baldwin shortly afterward and a few 
purchases were made from Oaklawn. A little later 
some mares of Brilliant breeding were bought from 
Lee Bros, of Kansas. Among these was Folichonne 
31518 (54111), one of the most valuable mares ever 
owned in the stud. She was an inbred Brilliant, 
having for sire Besigue and for her dam a daughter 
of the same Besigue. These mares and the others 
which had been added from time to time gave Greg- 
ory Farm quite a band of matrons by 1908. Their 
produce, sired by Radziwill, was so satisfactory that 
Mr. Corsa determined to secure the best stallion 
obtainable to succeed Radziwill in the stud, and for 




CARNOT 666&6 (66666). CHAMPION AT INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, 1909. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 411 

use on the fillies sired by Mm. Carnot 66666 
(66666), a winner of first prize at Paris and with 
practically an unbroken string of victories in the 
United States to his credit, was champion stallion 
at the International in 1909. His purchase at the 
hitherto unheard of price of $10,000 was consum- 
mated and he went to the head of the Gregory Farm 
stud in 1910. Actual breeding operations at Gregory 
Farm during the first decade of the century were 
carefully planned, but no showing or advertising of 
consequence was done until after the purchase of 
Carnot in 1909. The mares that had been purchased 
and those bred at White Hall, however, had given 
Mr. Corsa a strong foundation, worthy of the high- 
priced sire selected, and subsequent breeding opera- 
tions, combined with unusually skillful advertising 
in the sho wring and agricultural press, have placed 
the Gregory Farm stud among the leading Percheron 
breeding establishments of the present period. 

Progress in Iowa. — Iowa, second in Percheron 
breeding from an early period, maintained its rank 
during this decade. While there were fewer noted 
and extensive breeders of Percherons in Iowa 
than in Illinois, the operations were more widely 
scattered through all parts of the state than was 
the case in Illinois. A foundation was laid which 
has brought the state very close to Illinois in the 
number of Percherons produced. 

The Lakewood Farm stud was the leading Per- 
cheron-breeding establishment in Iowa during this 
period, and bred more Percherons than any other 



412 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

in the United States during this time. To the pur- 
chases made prior to 1900 Mr. McMillan added some 
of the best mares from the E. L. Humbert stud, the 
Minnesota Percheron Horse Co., and the Wyatt 
Stanley stud, and also numerous other mares bought 
from scattered breeders. Seducteur was bought in 
the spring of 1900. Calypso 25017 (44577), first- 
prize winner in the three-year-old class at the Inter- 
national in 1900 and reserve champion at that show, 
was purchased in time to make his first season at 
Lake wood Farm in 1901. He was a line-bred Bril- 
liant, a son of the noted Theudis and out of a daugh- 
ter of Brilliant 3d. Individually he was not of the 
largest type, but stood about 16% hands in height 
and weighed 1,900 pounds in breeding condition. He 
was a remarkably well-proportioned horse, beauti- 
fully balanced throughout, with two good ends and 
a good middle. His underpinning could not be sur- 
passed and his style, quality and action have seldom 
been equalled. All in all. Calypso was one of the 
most perfect types of the breed used in America 
after 1900, and the only serious criticism ever lodged 
against him was on the point of size. He proved 
to be one of the most prepotent sires ever known 
to the breed. His get won more prizes for get-of- 
sire than that of any other stallion used in America 
during his time; his excellence as a sire made the 
reputation of Lakewood Farm. He worked under 
the disadvantage of being bred to large numbers of 
mares that were intended solely for sale purposes; 
they were not really good enough to be mated to a 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 413 

sire of such outstanding excellence. Despite this, 
time has demonstrated that no sire ever begot a 
more uniform and a more excellent lot of colts than 
Calypso, when the character of the mares used is 
taken into consideration. 

It must not be inferred from this that there were 
no good mares in the Lakewood Farm stud. There 
was a large number of mares of the best type and 
breeding, whose progeny by Calypso carried the 
colors of the Lakewood stud to the front in the 
strongest of competition at the leading shows. 

Olbert 42815 (53109), first-prize aged stallion and 
reserve champion at the 1905 International, was 
purchased and used in the Lakewood stud during 
the seasons of 1906 and 1907. He was an upstanding 
gray, over 17 hands high and weighing 2,100 pounds 
in fair condition. He was an upheaded, stylish stal- 
lion, rather more rangy in pattern than most of 
the horses of 1905 and 1906. He was a horse of 
surpassing quality, with flintlike bone, tendons well 
set back and joints clearly defined. Olbert was pur- 
chased for the particular purpose of being mated 
to the daughters of Calypso, with a view to in- 
creasing the scale and draftiness of the Lakewood 
Farm Percherons. He begot size, but his colts were 
so rough and rangy in appearance as yearlings and 
two-year-olds that he was disposed of before his 
real value as a sire became apparent. His get did 
not round into sale form until 3 and 4 years of 
age, but they were horses of tremendous scale and 
massiveness, with more than usual quality. His 



414 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

blood, at first unappreciated, was later highly valued 
by breeders who were seeking to increas'^ the size 
of their Percherons without sacrificing quality. His 
subsequent development into a sire of high rank 
vindicated the judgment of John Huston, who in- 
sisted, as one judge on the committee at the Inter- 
national in 1905, that Olbert showed every evidence 
of developing into a great stock horse. Had this 
stallion been given an opportunity to head a great 
band of brood mares, no one can estimate how far- 
reaching his influence might have been. As it is, Ol- 
bert has a conspicuous place among Percheron sires. 
Actual breeding operations at Lakewood Farm 
Avere subordinated to the work of purchasing and 
distributing Percherons. Mr. McMillan was one of 
the first to realize the opportunity open to men who 
were good judges of Percherons and who had the 
means and inclination to assemble the Percheron 
stock which had been so widely scattered through- 
out the years of depression. For years he made 
heavy purchases of both mares and stallions, par- 
ticularly in Illinois and Iowa. After carrying these 
animals long enough to put them in shape for sale 
they were sold at public auction and were widely 
distributed throughout the northwest. A large num- 
ber of the animals which were recorded as bred at 
Lakewood Farm were from mares purchased for 
sale purposes, bred to the Lakewood Farm sires 
and sold in foal, so that the number actually bred 
and raised at Lakewood Farm is but a part of thi^ 
grand total. 




A.B.MoIbert "] )( [ W.S.Corsa 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOl'SLV 415 

The sliowyard winnings of the Percherons from 
the Lakewood stud constitute an important contri- 
bution to the showyard history of this period, be- 
ginning at the International of 1906, where the 
purple ribbon for grand champion mare fell to 
lolanthe 40925, and where the get of Calypso won 
first for get-of-sire. McMillan & Son showed re- 
peatedly at the Iowa and Minnesota State Fairs and 
at the International with marked success. The mare 
lolanthe, bred at Lakewood Farm, was first-prize 
three-year-old at the Iowa and Minnesota State Fairs 
and won the championship at Minnesota, as well as 
at the International, in 1906. She came back as 
an aged mare and won the championship at the In- 
ternational in 1910, the only mare that ever accom- 
plished this feat in the history of the show. The 
American-bred colts brought to the front from tlie 
Lakewood stud were the first successfully to com- 
pete with imported horses in the leading showrings. 
This stud did more to overcome the erroneous im- 
pression that American-bred horses Avere not so 
good as the imported ones than any other breeding 
establishment of the period. 

Singmaster & Sons, Keota, la., continued opera- 
tions on an extensive scale, both as importers and 
as breeders. The other draft breeds which had re- 
ceived considerable attention from them prior to 
this time were relegated to the background and Per- 
eheron interests became paramount at Maple Grove 
Farms. C. F. Singmaster and his son, J. 0., were 
the most active in the development of this stud, 



416 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

although Thomas Singmaster, brother of C. F., also 
carried on extensive breeding operations. 

The heavy importations made by the Singmasters 
led them to test out a large number of different sires, 
and more than 25 were in service during this period. 
"While this practice resulted in the production of a 
large number of high-class Percherons, it did not 
lead to the development of any sires of outstanding 
reputation. Bataclan 21264 (43368) was given more 
liberal opportunities in the stud than most of his 
contemporaries, and he subsequently sired a number 
of purebred colts in the studs of J. H. Letts and 
Brockway & Sons. Niagara 32338 (48905) was also 
used rather extensively and left many good colts at 
Maple Grove in 1905 and 1906. He later saw service 
in the stud of 0. L. Thisler of Kansas, and still later 
went to P. W. Cox & Sons. A number of mares bred 
to him were sold to Glover & Son of North Dakota, 
where they contributed to the success of their stud. 

While no sires of nation-wide reputation were used 
in the Singmaster studs during this period, the type 
was materially improved by persistent selection of 
the best mares and by carefully mating them to 
such sires as seemed to be best fitted to overcome 
deficiencies. Relatively little was done in the way 
of showyard exhibitions until 1907, but from that 
time on the Singmaster stud was most strongly rep- 
resented in the leading shows. The persistent, wide- 
spread advertising done by this firm and the ex- 
tensive sales made affected most favorably draft 
horse development in all sections, and a large num- 



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MOULIXET 7912C (CSOIT), FIRST- PRIZE AGED STAUNTON AT PAKIS 1911, 
AFTEKWARDS IMPORIT.D TO AMERICA. 




INDIVISE, A PRIZEWINNING MARE AT FRENCH SHOWS. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 417 

ber of breeding establishments were founded on the 
purchases of mares and stallions from Maple Grove. 
The quality and character of the animals purchased 
has improved steadily, and the stud today ranks 
among the leading breeding establishments in the 
United States. 

Maasdam & Wheeler, Fairfield, la., were ex- 
tensive dealers and importers from 1901 to 1910. 
Their breeding operations were subordinate to their 
other activities, but they were well to the front in 
the; showrings. They exhibited the gray mare 
Amorita, champion at the International in 1909. 
They distributed a large number of animals of draf ty 
type and their sales in the western states were most 
extensive. 

L. M. Hartley, one of the early draft horse breed- 
ers in southeastern Iowa, was another breeder who 
produced a number of Percherons during this period 
and was also active as a dealer. His horses were 
characterized by heavy bone and extreme rugged- 
ness and massiveness. They were very powerful, 
well-proportioned draft horses, possessing more 
draftiness than finish. They proved extremely valu- 
able in increasing the size and bone of the stock 
they were used upon and a number of the best sires 
of market horses trace to this stud. Samson 27328 
and Tavernier 35719, whose dam was a daughter 
of Samson, were the leading stallions used. Both 
were prepotent. Samson was sired by Martigny 
2528 (1271), a gray stallion imported in 1883 by Mr. 
Dunham and sold to Mr. Hartley in 1884. Martigny 



418 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

was of the Favori and Cooo breeding, and the most 
valuable of the early sires used in the Hartley stud. 
Bred to Tontine 5756 (4240), a grand-daughter of 
Brilliant 1899, he begot Samson. Samson stamped 
his foals so indelibly with his own likeness that ex- 
perienced horsemen who knew the old horse could 
pick his colts with almost unerring certainty out of 
bands containing numerous animals of other breed- 
ing. Little was done in the way of showing the 
horses bred in this stud, but persistent newspaper 
advertising was resorted to and the horses were sold 
over a wide range of territory. 

E. D. Seaman, a neighbor of L. M. Hartley, had 
stock of much the same pattern and was also an 
extensive breeder during this period. 

F. E. Waters, West Liberty, la., confined his work 
largely to actual breeding operations and produced 
some very drafty, useful stock, particularly after 
acquiring Morse 22714 (40383) and Brilliant D. 
45336. These sires were both above the average in 
size and draftiness. Crossed on the thick mares 
already in the stud they begot some very useful 
stock which has been widely distributed through- 
out the northwest. 

M. L. Ayres, whose work has already been dis- 
cussed, was among the ten leading breeders in Iowa 
during this period. Blande 29259 (36577) was the 
leading sire used ; he was a son of Brilliant 3d out of 
a daughter of the noted show horse La Ferte 5144 
(452) and had been at the head of M. Tacheau's stud 
in France for some time prior to his importation by 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 419 

Mr. Ayres. Blancle was a black with strip and snip 
in his face, and a horse of excellent pattern, stand- 
ing about 16.3 hands high and weighing 2,000 
pounds. He was deep-bodied, strong-backed, long 
and level in the croup, with excellent feet and set 
of legs, and possessed good quality and action. He 
was an extremely prepotent sire and many of the 
best stallions imported from France were sired by 
him. He was the sire of the Olbert referred to in 
the discussion of the Lakewood stud and of many 
other good horses. His colts sired in Mr. Ayres' 
stud were uniform and closely resembled their sire, 
even to color and markings. Mr. Ayres was an ex- 
cellent feeder and gave his foals every opportunity 
for development. The colts sold from this breeding 
establishment were of the heavy-boned, deep-bodied, 
thick, drafty kind, and rendered excellent service 
wherever used. Mr. Ayres' advanced age and lack 
of general education handicapped his operations, 
but the horses bred by him were undeniably of great 
value to Percheron interests. 

James Loonan was another of the 10 leading breed- 
ers in Iowa during this period, and his operations 
were strictly along breeding lines. His horses were 
rather low-down, thick, wide and drafty, somewhat 
on the ''Dutchman's type." Superior 40605, out of 
a daughter of Confident, one of the most noted sons 
of Brilliant, was the greatest sire used in this stud. 
He was about 17 hands high and a deep, thick, drafty 
horse, weighing 2,200 pounds in show condition. His 
colts were uniform in type and of high average ex- 



420 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

cellence ; lie rendered excellent service from the time 
lie entered Mr. Loonan's stud as a three-year-old in 
1906. Some showing was practiced, animals bred 
in this stud being exhibited at the International in 
1910 and 1911, where for both years the second prize 
was won on the get of Superior. Mr. Loonan's gen- 
eral advertising was somewhat limited in character, 
but horses have been sold from this stud over a large 
part of Iowa and to some extent in the northwestern 
states and Canada. 

Isadore Link was another Iowa breeder whose 
work already has been touched upon. While he 
did not breed a large number of Percherons, they 
were of good type and were much sought after by 
dealers who recognized their excellent conformation 
and quality. 

There were numerous other breeders in Iowa 
whose operations are deserving of attention, but 
they were for the most part men who bred limited 
numbers of Percherons. They contributed materi- 
ally to the improvement of draft horses in Iowa, 
however, by the use of high-class sires and by dis- 
tributing animals of good type and breeding, there- 
by aiding materially in bringing Iowa to its present 
premier position among the states in number and 
total value of all horses, 

Ohio's Contributions. — Ohio, third in Percheron 
breeding with a total of 471 breeders by 1910, bred 
2,286 Percherons during the decade. The Hartman 
Stock Farm, Columbus, 0., was the ranking breed- 
ing establishment in the state, and a heavy importer 



THE NEW CENTURY DxVWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 421 

as well. Its operations began in 1901 with the pur- 
chase of a number of American-bred mares. This 
was followed in 1902 by the importation of more 
than 50 mares and several stallions, and additional 
importations were made in 1903, 1904 and later. 
Ugolin 31488 (46131) was the first stallion used, but 
he sired only a few purebred colts. 

Dr. Hartman was very wealthy and ambitious to 
build up the greatest Percheron breeding establish- 
ment in America. He bought a number of the best 
mares from the Dunham stud, several from A, P. 
Nave, and purchased the best he could obtain in 
France. He also secured at a long price the stallion 
Besigue, the most noted sire used in France between 
1893 and the time of his purchase by Dr. Hartman 
in 1904. Unfortunately the horse died on shipboard, 
so that Dr. Hartman 's plan of bringing over the 
greatest sire France possessed to head his breeding 
establishment failed of completion. He had more 
than 120 Percheron mares in his stud in 1904, but 
results were extremely unsatisfactory. A large num- 
ber of the mares were worked in teams at heavy 
hauling by teamsters who were every thing but 
horsemen. Heavy pulling and backing of the mares 
while in foal resulted in the loss of many foals. 
The plan of running the mares in large bands 
favored the spread of abortion, which cut down the 
number of foals produced. The supposed tendency 
of imported mares to be shy breeders on account 
of acclimation fever for the first 2 or 3 years after 
importation was another retarding factor, so that 



422 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the number of foals produced was very small in 
proportion to the number of mares owned. Lack of 
success in producing and raising colts discouraged 
Dr. Hartman, and he sold most of his mares before 
1910. 

The steady importations of stallions and the 
tendency of the men in charge continually to try 
out new horses led to the use of more than 20 dif- 
ferent stallions in the Hartman stud, with the result 
that none of them was given a thorough enough trial 
to achieve any particular reputation. 

Dr. Hartman exhibited at the Ohio State Fair 
and at the International with fair success. Con- 
siderable newspaper advertising was instituted and 
the Percheron importing and breeding operations 
carried on by the Hartman Stock Farm did much 
to increase the popularity of Percherons, besides 
leading to the direct distribution of a large number 
of valuable mares and stallions. 

The mare Folichonne, already referred to as one 
of the most valuable brood mares in the Gregory 
Farm stud, was one of those imported by the Hart- 
man Stock Farm, and many other mares that have 
done much good in other breeding establishments 
were imported or bred by this stud. While the 
experiment was a failure from a financial standpoint 
so far as Dr. Hartman was concerned, it nevertheless 
benefited Percheron breeding interests in the United 
States in a material degree. 

C. M. Jones, Plain City, 0., the oldest living 
Percheron breeder in the United States, whose opera- 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 423 

tions have already been reviewed in some detail, 
was another of the most influential breeders in Ohio 
during this period. His work was continued along 
the same conservative lines, but the animals bred 
in this stud, while few in number, were of uniformly 
high character. Most of the stallions produced by 
Mr. Jones went to head purebred studs, and such 
mares as were sold proved valuable additions to 
other breeding establishments. Diamant 80018 
(46611), first prize two-year-old at the 1902 Inter- 
national, was purchased by Mr. Jones at that show 
and was the head of his stud from that time on. He 
was almost black when shown, but subsequently 
developed into a typical gray. He stood 17 hands 
high, weighed more than a ton in breeding condi- 
tion and was a stylish, deep-bodied, massive, heavy- 
boned horse, with excellent underpinning and good 
quality; he could have been a little deeper in the 
back rib to advantage. Diamant proved to be an 
excellent breeder, siring drafty colts of excellent 
conformation, quality, style and action. Although 
he stood at a higher service fee than any other stal- 
lion in the community he always had all he could 
do. His colts, whether grade or purebred, com- 
manded top prices. He was the sire of some very 
good mares which went into the C F. Camp and 
John Yost & Sons studs, and was also the sire of 
Dorus 51052, used for some years at the head of 
C. F. Camp's stud. Dorus sired Dora C. 81201, a 
prizewinner at the Ohio State Fair. Some of the 
daughters of Diamant bred to Aiglon 34397 (51598), 



424 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a son of Besigue, by C. F. Camp produced colts that 
were good enough to win the Eastern Percheron 
Breeders ' Futurity. The colt Algernon 112779, win- 
ner of these Futurity stakes at the Ohio State Fair 
in 1915, was bred on this identical line. Mr. Jones 
did not do much exhibiting, but the influence of 
his stud was marked, even during this period. 

John Yost & Sons, Thornville, 0., whose horses 
have been discussed in some detail, were among the 
leading breeders in Ohio during this period. Some 
of the best mares in their stud have been drawn 
from the C. M. Jones establishment, and three of 
the Jones stallions, Wamba 22034, Moreri Jr. 26195, 
and Dunham! 42077, were used in the Yost stud be- 
tween 1901 and 1910 with excellent results. 

Henry A. Eohrs, Napoleon, 0., who founded his 
stud in 1886, and whose work has been briefly 
touched upon, was one of the five leading breeders 
in Ohio during this period. He shipped some mares 
to Oaklawn in 1902 and got a couple of fillies by 
Theudis. One of these died without produce but 
the other, Theudisanna 35420 proved to be a good 
breeder. Mr. Eohrs shipped her to White Hall, 111., 
to be mated to Camot in 1912, obtaining a filly 
Carnole 108892. These two instances indicate Mr. 
Eohr's willingness to go to considerable expense 
in his breeding, and his influence upon those breed- 
ers who came in contact with him was effective in 
leading them to exercise greater care in the selec- 
tion of their stock, particularly the sires. 
' Lonzo McClain, E. D. Koli, D. L. Buchanan, B. L. 




DRAGON 52135 (t;?,31i;), TKA-MI'IOX AT tHUACO IXTERiXATIONAi, 190T. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 425 

Robinson, F. M. Camp, E. J. Condit and A. B. New- 
son were other breeders whose work was valuable to 
Percheron interests in Ohio during this period. And 
there were many others whose operations, while less 
extensive, were potent, particularly in the local field. 
Of those named Mr. Camp has bred more prize- 
winners than any other, and his success has been 
due largely to his insistence upon procuring the 
best possible foundation stock and to his unusually 
intelligent care in the management and feeding of 
the colts he has produced. His stock was character- 
ized by size, good conformation, excellent under- 
pinning, ample style and action. He has demon- 
strated that it is possible for a small breeder whose 
chief interests are in farming to produce horses 
capable of winning in the hottest competition. 

The filly that won the first Eastern Percheron 
Futurity stake at the Ohio State Fair and the stal- 
lions that won the same futurity stakes in 1914 
and 1915 were all bred by Camp. The stallion that 
won the futurity in 1914 won second in the two- 
year-old stallion class at the Iowa State Fair, and 
third at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Fran- 
cisco in 1915, proving that his early performance 
was no fluke. These winnings, convincing evidence 
of the soundness of Mr. Camp's methods, should 
serve to drive home to thousands of other farmer- 
breeders who have but a few Percherons the fact 
that large numbers are not required to produce prize- 
winners that sell for long prices. Sound judgment 
in the selection of foundation stock, the use of good 



426 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

sires, and intelligent management in the breeding 
and development of the colts mean far more than 
the possession of a large band of mares. 

McLaughlin Bros., whose headquarters were at 
Columbus, 0., were among the most extensive im- 
porters operating in the United States during this 
period. They confined their operations exclusively 
to imported horses and rarely bought mares except 
on special orders. They imported a large number 
of very high-class stallions, excellent both in in- 
dividuality and in bloodlines, between 1901 and 1908. 
Nearly all their stallions were sold to syndicates on 
the company plan at high prices, and as a result 
comparatively few of the many stallions which 
they imported were ever used on purebred mares, 
as most of them went to neighborhoods where only 
grade mares were available. There were some notable 
exceptions to the rule, but the majority of the stal- 
lions imported by this firm have been lost to the 
breed. The firm was very active, however, in adver- 
tising and popularizing Percherons. The McLaugh- 
lins were extensive exhibitors at the leading shows, 
sending forward horses that were as a rule 
well brought out. They were aggressive and 
extensive advertisers in the agricultural press. The 
large amount of notes taken on horses sold finally 
brought about the downfall of the firm, as great sums 
proved impossible of collection and eventually forced 
a liquidation of the business. 

The Percherons bred in Ohio during this period 
were good, although they did not possess on an 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 427 

average so much scale as the Illinois and Iowa 
horses. 

Progress in Kansas. — Kansas, fourth in Perche- 
ron breeding, with 319 breeders by 1910, bred a total 
of 2,039 Percherons during this period. Slower 
progress was made in this state than in Illinois, 
Iowa or Ohio. This was due in part to the fact 
that the farmers had been harder hit by years of 
depression, and also to the fact that they had se- 
vere drouths and short crops in 1902 and 1904. 
The steadily increasing demand for draft horses for 
farm use was a stimulant, and the sale of many im- 
ported stallions in the Sunflower State by strong 
importing firms hastened the liking of Percheron 
sires. 

J. C. & J. W. Robison, whose first Percheron 
mares were purchased in 1897, had the leading 
stud in Kansas during this period. The first mare 
purchased was Rosalie 4894, a daughter of Nyanza 
869. J. C. Robison bought her from Henry Avery, 
Wakefield, Kans., and at the time he was there 
Mr. Avery offered to let him take one or all of the 
mares at $100 each. This band of mares contained 
several daughters of Brilliant 3d and many others 
of excellent breeding, but the horses were then lack- 
ing in size and Mr. Robison was entirely un- 
acquainted with Brilliant 3d's reputation as a sire. 
He finally purchased the one mare with considerable 
trepidation, but has regretted often since that he 
did not buy the entire band. 

In the spring of 1900 J. C. Robison bought for 



428 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the firm 4 imported mares and 2 colts at the side 
of their dams, from S. W. McMillan, Topeka, Kans. 
These mares were of the Ellwood stock and ex- 
cellent individuals, but Mr. McMillan had become 
discouraged by reason of the long depression in 
values. He sold the entire bunch to Mr. Robison 
for $610. Among the band thus purchased for a 
song was the mare Fine 13085 (26998). She had a 
filly foal at side when purchased, which Mr. Robi- 
son recorded as Zaza 24618. Zaza subsequently won 
first in the aged mare classes at the St. Louis Ex- 
position in 1904. Her half-sister Fauvette 27223, 
produced by Fine in 1901, won first in the three- 
year-old class, and the two were sold immediately 
after the show to E. B. White of Leesburg, Va., for 
$1,000 each. Fine produced another foal in 1902, 
but after that time quit breeding. 

Three other valuable mares were added to the 
Robison stud in 1901 by purchases made at the 
Wyatt Stanley sale. One was Albertine 5119 (7587), 
a daughter of Confident. Another was the mare 
Azalia, sired by Brilliant 1271 and out of Albertine. 
The third mare was Idalia, another daughter of 
Brilliant 1271. These mares were excellent indi- 
viduals and had been good producers in the hands 
of their previous owners, but transplanting them 
to Kansas apparently interfered with their breeding, 
for none of them proved to be satisfactory producers 
after passing into the ownership of the Whitewater 
Falls stud. Their failure to breed regularly was 
a sore disappointment to Mr. Robison, as they were 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 429 

mares of the most desirable bloodlines and excellent 
individuals. 

Endymion, another grand, big mare, a daughter 
of Brilliant 3d, also proved to be an unreliable pro- 
ducer. She was bought by the Eobisons in 1903, 
and although bred regularly proved barren until 
1907. She was subsequently sold to C. N. Miller, 
Lindsay, Ark., who got a foal out of her in 1909. 
He in turn sold her to W. S. Corsa in 1910, who did 
not succeed in getting a foal from her until 1914. 
She produced altogether only 5 foals in 17 years. 

Some mares were purchased by Eobison & Son 
from Thodore Moore, Arkansas City, Kans. These 
were of the Dillon stock and Victorine 61629, later 
one of the best brood mares in Mr. Corsa 's stud, 
was bred by Mr. Eobison out of Victoria 41198, one 
of the mares included in this purchase. Eosa Bon- 
heur 11324 (10382) would probably rank next to 
Fine as a valuable brood mare. She was a daughter 
of Confident and was imported by the Ellwoods. 
She passed into the hands of 0. L. Thisler and later 
to T. K. Tomson & Son, from whom Mr. Eobison 
bought her. She produced 4 foals from 1902 to 
1905 at the Whitewater Falls Farm, and they were 
all exceptionally high-class. The last one. Brilliant 
42592, was used for some time in the home stud. 
Some other good mares were bought from S. C. 
Hanna, who had obtained some of the best matrons 
from his brother's stud at Bloomington, 111. Some 
of the best things bred by the Eobisons during this 
period came from this foundation. 



430 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

The chief stud sires used at Whitewater Falls 
during this period were Fantome 25972 (43683), 
Social 9311 (18468), and Casino 27830 (45462). 
Casino was the stallion that really made the repu- 
tation of the stud. He was imported in 1901 by 
SingTuaster & Sons, and was a line-bred Brilliant, a 
son of Theudis out of a granddaughter of Brilliant 
1899. He went to the head of the Whitewater Falls 
stud in 1902 and is still in active service, although 
now 20 years of age. He was a winner of numerous 
prizes at state fairs in 1902 and 1903, won first in 
the aged stallion class in 1904 at St. Louis World's 
Fair, and has a long record of prizes to his credit, 
both individually and as a sire. He stood about 17 
hands high and weighed from 1,900 to 1,950 pounds in 
breeding condition. He was a deep-bodied, strong- 
backed, well-ribbed horse, symmetrical throughout, 
and with the stylish carriage of head and neck and 
the freedom of action so much desired in Percherons. 
His colts were uniform in type, and while he, like 
Calypso, suffered the disadvantage of being bred to 
many mares that were intended purely for sale, his 
progeny has been considerably above the average 
and he is justly entitled to rank among the noted 
sires of the breed. He wrought decided improve- 
ment in the Whitewater Falls Farm Percherons, and 
had his best daughters been carefully retained this 
breeding establishment would have had a band of 
mares of very much more excellence than it did 
possess. High prices tempted Mr. Robison to sell 
many of Casino 's daughters, however. This policy. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 431 

while successful from a financial standpoint, un- 
doubtedly interfered with the development of the 
stud. 

Mr. Robison's operations as a dealer were ex- 
tensive. In the later years of this period he bought 
large numbers of mares in various sections, par- 
ticularly in Illinois and Iowa, and distributed them 
through the southwest by public auctions held at 
Whitewater Falls Farm. This resulted in the estab- 
lishment of a large number of new breeding places 
and aided in popularizing Percherons in Kansas and 
the states to the southwest, where the bulk of the 
sales were made. 

Henry Avery, Wakefield, Kans., whose earlier 
operations, both individually and as a member of the 
firm of Avery & Coleman, have already been fully 
reviewed, was one of the leading breeders in Kansas 
during this period. He exhibited at the St. Louis 
Exposition in 1904, where he won first and third on 
two-year-old mares. The stallion Bosquet 40105 
(46612) was the last sire in use and left some very 
good colts, a number of which went to the stables 
of J. H. Tangeman when the Avery stud was dis- 
persed in 1905. The prices realized were satisfac- 
tory, considering the fact that everything, old, 
young and blemished, was sold. 

There is no doubt but that Henry Avery rendered 
a great service to Percheron breeding in Kansas. 
His stud was dispersed at a time when victory was 
practically within his grasp. The animals sold 
passed into the hands of many breeders in Kansas 



432 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHP:R0N HORSE 

and wherever given a fair opportunity for full de- 
velopment have demonstrated the good breeding 
they possessed by maturing into large, well-pro- 
portioned, valuable Percherons. 

J. H. Tangeman, one of the heavy purchasers of 
Avery stock, did not breed a large number of Per- 
cherons, but produced very good stock. Many of his 
animals M^ere considerably above the average in 
breeding. 

0. T. Thisler also bred a number of Percherons 
during this period. He was always more of a dealer 
than breeder and we have previously referred to 
his purchases from the Ellwood stud. He also made 
some purchases at a later date from Singmaster & 
Sons. He came quite active in developing Percher- 
ons in Kansas and at points farther west. 

C. H. Spohr, one of the five leading breeders in 
Kansas during this period started with stock from 
the Covell stud. The mare Mollie 19915, bred from 
this foundation, was a valuable brood mare, a reg- 
ular producer of good colts. She raised colts of 
record in 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1909, 
1910, 1912 and 191 4, an achievement that is sur- 
passed by few brood mares. Three of her stallions, 
Castillon 1st, Castillon 2d and Castillon 3d, are re- 
ported to have sold for $800 each, and the mare was 
a money-maker from the start of her career. Cas- 
tillon 27318 (46308) was the most valuable sire used 
in this stud. He was a black with a star in his fore- 
head, foaled in 1900 and imported in 1901 by H. A. 
Briggs. Sired by Paladin (Conat 34847) and a 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 433 

grandson of the noted sire Cliampeaux 6218 (2248), 
he was out of a line-bred Brilliant dam. He was a 
large, well-proportioned, rugged stallion, weighing 
2,350 pounds in show condition, and his get has 
been distributed throughout the southwest. The 
management of the stud has since passed into the 
hands of John and John A. Spohr. 

Other Kansas breeders who came into prominence 
during this period were F. H. Shrepel, G. E. Clark, 
S. S. Spangler, Snyder Bros., Lee Bros., Clark A. 
Smith, S. C. Hanna and Dr. J. T. Axtell. None of 
these had bred very many animals at the close of the 
decade, but they laid strong foundations for later 
work. 

Dr. J. T. Axtell achieved some note by attempting 
to create a strain of bay Percherons. He bought 
a number of typical animals of that color and by 
breeding these together attempted to create a defi- 
nite strain. Results proved embarrassing, for prac- 
tically 50 percent of his Percherons were blacks and 
greys. It should be possible, by persistent effort 
to develop a strain of bays, and if the doctor's efforts 
are not interrupted something of this kind undoubt- 
edly may be accomplished. 

The chief work done by Percheron breeders in 
Kansas during this decade consisted in popularizing 
the breed and in improving the size, quality and 
type of the market horses and the Percherons in the 
state. Extensive sales were made into Oklahoma, 
Texas and other southwest states. The breeders of 
Kansas have exerted a greater influence upon Per- 



434 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

clieron development in the southwest than have 
those of any other commonwealth. 

Progress in Minnesota. — Minnesota, fifth in Per- 
clieron breeding during the decade under con- 
sideration, had 279 breeders by 1910, and 1,583 
Percherons bred in that state are of record as 
foaled during that period. G. W. Patterson, the 
Patterson-Erickson Co., T. L. & J. L. DeLancey, 
the Jean DuLuth Co., H. W. Lightley, Crandall & 
Danforth, L. C. Hodgson and L. W. Orr were the 
leading breeders. 

T. L. & J. L. DeLancey, whose operations have 
already been sketched, were the most aggressive 
of the Minnesota firms so far as exhibitions at the 
leading state fairs were concerned, and at this 
time probably were the most active in distributing 
Percherons. They did not breed a large number, 
but the horses they did produce were of superior 
character and successfully contended in the open 
classes at the Minnesota State Fair during 1900, 
1901, 1902 and 1904. The mare Charmante 10931 
(20451) was their most valuable breeding matron 
and held her showyard form to a late age. Her 
colts without exception were of high character and 
winners in the leading shows. The DeLanceys 
sold foundation animals tO' a number of other studs 
in Minnesota and wielded a decided influence in 
the development of Percheron interests during the 
early part of this period. 

George W. Patterson, Worthington, Minn., 
founded his stud in 1901 by purchasing 6 mares 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 435 

and a stallion at the Wyatt Stanley and John Huston 
sales, held late in the fall of 1901. Forfait 16873 
(28578), head of the John Huston stable for years, 
was purchased to head Mr. Patterson's stud, but 
died before being used. Mr. Patterson thereupon 
purchased Lyceen 21620 (42509) from T. L. & J. L. 
DeLancey, and used him until the spring of 1908, 
when he sold him to the Jean DuLuth stud. 

The first colts bred by Mr. Patterson were 
dropped in 1903, and Lyceen was the chief sire dur- 
ing the first 5 years, although Collegian 22744 
(43609), a son of Lyceen and also imported by the 
DeLanceys, was used to some extent. In addition 
to his 6 foundation mares Mr. Patterson secured 
several from Nagle and Sons, Grand Eidge, 111., and 
others from the Minnesota Percheron Horse Co. 

The mare Frou Frou 22681 was bred by H. G. 
McMillan, passed into Mr. Patterson's stud and 
proved to be a most regular breeder for him and 
also in the hands of her later owners A. J. Lasby 
and G. J. Gilbertson. Some mares were also ob- 
tained by Mr. Patterson from T. L. & J. L. DeLancey 
and M. C. Hodgson. Among the best ones were 
those purchased from Hodgson & Nagle. They in- 
cluded Rose Bonheur 12962, a daughter of the fa- 
mous Confident which proved a very satisfactory 
breeder. 

In the spring of 1907 Mr. Patterson transferred 
his business to Patterson-Erickson Co. and extended 
his holding of Percherons. A disappointing number 
of colts was produced, which might have been due 



436 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

in part to the fact that he carried a large number 
of his mares in idleness. Many failed to get in foal 
and the loss of colts was heavy, but despite these 
difficulties this breeding establisment bred 106 
Percherons during the 10 years. Numerous sales 
were made, and the mares produced were widely 
scattered throughout the northwest. Some of them 
went to A. A. Sandahl of Montana and were subse- 
quently sold to Prof. Oliver Jenkins of the Leland 
Stanford University, in California. A. J. Lasby 
obtained some mares from this breeding establish- 
ment and others were sold to the Jean DuLuth Co. 
Lyceen was bought by the Jean DuLuth Co. in the 
spring of 1908 and stood at the head of that stud 
until 1913. 

All in all, the breeding operations conducted by 
G. AV. Patterson and the Patterson-Erickson Co., re- 
sulted in increasing the popularity of Percherons in 
Minnesota and in distributing a number of animals 
throught the state and the northwest. The state 
fair showrings saw some of the horses during the 
latter part of the decade. The stud was finally 
dispersed in the spring of 1914, U. L, Burdick of 
North Dakota taking all of the remainder, 

H. W. Lightley, whose work has been touched 
upon previously, was another of the leading breeders 
in Minnesota. He added some mares by purchase, 
but for the most part extended his Percheron hold- 
ings by retaining mares of his own breeding in the 
stud. The stallion Klondike 21633, bred by T. L. 
& J. L. DeLancey, was the chief sire used by Mr. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 437 

Lightley in the early part of the period. This was 
a very rugged, big horse, his sire being the noted 
Titus 17122 (36778) and his dam the DeLancey mare 
Charmante. He proved an effective sire. Dewey 
23968 was used a little later with good results; he 
was bred by Mr. Lightley and while not so massive 
in type as Klondike, left some excellent colts. This 
stud bred only 33 Percherons during the 10 years, 
but the business was carried on steadily and on the 
death of the father passed into the hands of the 
sons, who are still conducting it. 

The Jean DuLuth Co., Duluth, Minn., began in 
1904. The foundation mares were obtained from 
T. L. & J. L. Delancey, G. W. Patterson, and a few 
others, but the breeding operations were limited in 
character until about 1908, when the business was 
expanded. Special attention never was given to pro- 
ducing Percherons however; the horses have been 
bred as a sideline to general farming. The purchase 
of Lyceen, placed a valuable sire at the head of the 
stud in 1908, and while he did not beget many colts, 
they were of superior character. In 1913 the entire 
stud was sold to U. L. Burdick of North Dakota. 

Crandall Bros., Red Wing, Minn., reorganized as 
Crandall & Danforth, Randolph, Minn., about 1905. 
The foundation mares used by Crandall Bros., were 
secured from Levy Bailey, G. W. Patterson and Wil- 
liam Mies & Co. These purchases, together with 
other scattered ones, formed the basis of their Per- 
cheron stud, and when Mr. Danforth became a mem- 
ber of the firm the business was carried on with the 



438 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

foundation stock already assembled. The first sire 
of consequence was Spuller 17123 (20848), purchased 
from T. L. & J. L. DeLancey. He was a horse of 
rugged character and great size, and proved an 
extremely prepotent breeder. One of his best colts 
was the stallion Titian 25925, bred by Crandall 
Bros, out of Milena 21636, a daughter of the great 
sire Titus whose merits were discussed in our con- 
sideration of the DeLancey and Wyatt Stanley studs. 
Titian was a dark-gray, foaled in 1900. He was 
large, rugged and massive, and proved prepotent. 
He probably was the most valuable sire used by 
Crandall Bros, and Crandall & Danforth during this 
period and really made the reputation of the stud. 
He was used freely by neighboring breeders, includ- 
ing A. J. Lasby, T. L. & J. L. DeLancey, L. W. Orr 
and others, and begot 50 colts of record, whose de- 
scendants are scattered all over Minnesota. A num- 
ber of prizes in the open classes at the Minnesota 
State Fair are to the credit of the Crandall firm, 
but the exhibitions were not long continued and did 
not extend beyond the limits of the state. The 
bulk of the sales were local. The main work of this 
stud was to popularize Percherons in Minnesota, and 
its influence is still marked. 

L. C. Hodgson continued breeding Percherons in 
a small way during the early part of the century, 
and recorded 22 colts. Eichelieu 21567 and Sanson- 
net 2d 24588 were his most important sires during 
this time. 

L. W. Orr, Afton, Minn., was one of the smaller 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 439 

breeders in the state and his work was unique. He 
began in 1900 with a single mare which he bought 
from Jacob Koester. This was Fany 20458; she 
raised colts of record every year from 1901 until 
1910, inclusive, then missed until 1914, when she pro- 
duced another foal. Mr. Orr kept two of her best 
daughters for some time and these were also regu- 
lar breeders in his hands and in the hands of later 
owners.* His entire stud was originally developed 
from this one mare and her produce. The financial 
returns to Mr. Orr were such as to seem almost, 
fictitious, but they are well attested — an indication 

*Reg-arding- the produce of Fany 20458 Mr. L. W. Orr of Afton, 
Minn., writes: 

"I bought the mare Fany in 1900 from J. Koester of Minne- 
sota. She was foaled in 1895 and had produced some colts before 
I bought her. During tlie years 1901 to 1916, inclusive, a period 
of 16 years, she has never failed to get in foal, and I have saved 
and reared 12 colts produced by her in the 16 years (four were 
lost through abortion or shortly after birth). Of the colts foaled 
by her in my possession I sold the first, Rosalie 30609 as a mature 
mare for $500; her second colt, Pickador 33150, a stallion, I sold 
for $800; her third colt, a mare, Gladdis 34797, I sold at maturity 
for $500; her fourth colt, a stallion. Canton 425411, I sold for 
$1,000; her fifth colt, a mare, Blanche 43448, and her sixth colt, a 
mare, Rosette 46841, I still own and consider the pair easily 
worth $1,000; her seventh colt, a stallion, Donald 53982, I sold for 
$600 as a yearling rising two; her eighth colt, also a stallion, 
Pluton 59395, I sold for $800; her ninth colt, a mare. Hazel 72135, 
I reared, but she died before she foaled a colt for me; her tenth 
colt, a stallion, Tripoli 82581, I sold for $800; and her eleventh 
colt, a stallion, Superior 115223, I still o-wn, and consider him 
easily worth $800. Her last colt, foaled in 1916, is one of the best 
stallion foals she has ever produced, and I think $350 is a moderate 
estimate of his value. 

"I have sold seven of her colts for $5,000 in cash, and still 
own four" valued conservatively at $2,150. Fany has been a 
regular work mare, and has done as much work as any mare I 
have ever owned, taking her turn in the teams most of the time 
the year around. She has never been shod except when I have 
chosen to take her out to county and district fairs, but it is 
interesting to note that I have won more in prize money by 
exhibiting her than the mare herself cost. Her daughters have 
been prolific, have reared excellent colts, and I believe that two 
of them will in time make a better record than the old mare as 
money-makers. 

"I have never made an investment that has paid me as well 
as the purchase of this mare." 



440 A HISTORY OF THE PERCPIERON HORSE 

of what a small breeder can do if he has a good mare 
to start with. 

Among the many other breeders whose opera- 
tions were more extensive than the average were 
Manuel Cross, A, J. & W. J. Lasby and D. N. 
Tollman. 

Most of the Percheron breeding in Minnesota, 
however, was conducted by farmers who had from 
one to three mares. The large establishments which 
had made this state famous in an earlier period, 
notably those of Leonard Johnson and the Minne- 
sota Percheron Horse Co., had for the most part 
been dispersed. The mares passed at moderate 
prices into the hands of farmers who have built up 
Percheron studs of importance from a beginning of 
one or two mares. 

The Hoosier Horsemen. — Indiana, sixth in Per- 
cheron breeding, had a total of 184 Percheron breed- 
ers by 1910 and 1,582 Percherons bred in the state 
were foaled during this period. A, P. Nave, George 
D. Enyart, C. A. Randolph, William Day, L. A. 
Rickel and Granville Kesling were among the most 
active Percheron breeders in the state. J. Crouch 
& Son and L. W. Cochran were heavy importers and 
very active as dealers, influencing Percheron prog- 
ress in the state to a marked degree. 

J. Crouch & Son, although strictly importers and 
dealers, were especially influential in encouraging 
Percheron breeding in Indiana as they imported a 
large number during this time. The horses which 
they brought from France to Lafayette Stock Farm 




G.R.Crouch 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 141 

were high class, including many of the most noted 
prizewinners in France. Crouch & Son were ag- 
gressive exhibitors in the showring, winning a 
large portion of the prizes at the Indiana and Ohio 
State Fairs, and at the International Live Stock 
Exposition. Through their widespread newspaper 
advertising they did a great deal towards popular- 
izing Percherons in Indiana and adjoining states. 

A. P. Nave was the most active and influential 
breeder in Indiana during the decade. The founda- 
tion of his Walnut Grove stud was laid in 1897 by 
leasing mares from M. W. Dunham, a number of 
which he subsequently purchased. He also made 
a number of purchases from William Rumney & 
Sons, David Kisser and the Stetson Estate in Illi- 
nois, and was a heavy buyer of the best mares sold 
by John Huston, Blandinsville, 111., in 1901. 

The mares which A. P. Nave purchased for foun- 
dation purposes were among the best to be obtained 
in the United States at that time, and these were 
added to by importations from France. Mr. Nave 
has the distinction of being the first Percheron 
breeder in the United States to make importations 
of mares from France after the depression of the 
'90 's. He also bought all the good mares he could 
find in various parts of Indiana and Illinois. One of 
the most important bunches of well-bred stock 
which he secured was purchased from Ben Miller, 
Mount Ayr, Ind. Mr. Nave also bought the entire 
stud of E. L. Packer, Toulon, 111., as well as that of 
T. L. Newton, Beaverdam, Wis. Later Mr. Nave 



442 A HISTORY OF THE PERCH ERON HORSE 

obtained the entire collection of John Hanchett, Big 
Rapids, Mich., which included the grand stallion 
Ganthier 57626 (70231). He also bought some very 
good mares from Robert Burnham, of Champaign, 
111., and from ^Y. H. Parker, Maroa, 111. These 
numerous purchases of well-bred Percherons of good 
type gave Mr. Nave a most extensive band of more 
than average merit. He selected big, rugged mares 
standing around 16% to 17 hands in height, deep- 
bodied, strong-backed, symmetrical, and of extreme 
draftiness. Those secured from the Huston stud 
were among the best; Minei*va 31076 (43173), Rose 
31068 (50734) and Lisa 31071 (46682) were well up 
in the prizelists at the 1902 International. Cora B. 
22867, Castillonne 40389 (52602) and Julie 40388 
(51192) were winners for Mr. Nave at the 1903 
International, Castillone and Julie being first and 
second in the two-year-old filly class, while the best 
American-bred mare at the show was Cora B. 

Brilliant 19648 was the first sire of importance 
used at Walnut Grove and proved a very effective 
breeder. He was followed by Abo 22626 (43517), 
a massive black horse standing 17 hands in height 
and weighing more than a ton. Abo^ was very 
potent, begetting a uniform lot of heavy-boned black 
colts, 

Victoria 24449 (42905) was the most noted sire 
used in the Nave stud. He was one of the most 
famous sons of Besigue. Black, with a star and 
white hind feet, he was one of the largest sons of 
Besigue, standing over 17.1 hands high, and being 



THK XEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 443 

deep-bodied, well-proportioned and of very massive 
type. He had been imported in 1900 by McLaughlin 
Bros., who sold him to Iowa. He came into promi- 
nence when his son Pink won the championship at 
the International in 1903. Two of Mr. Nave's im- 
ported show mares Avere sired by Victoria and he 
decided to make a trip to Iowa to locate the stallion. 
He found him in the hands of a farmer who had 
given him very poor care and who had no idea of 
his real worth as a sire. Mr. Nave had a favorable 
impression of his value, as he had seen many of his 
colts and knew that many of the best horses im- 
ported in 1900, 1901, 1902 and 1903 had been sired 
by him. He had imported some of these colts him- 
self. He succeeded in purchasing Victoria at a mod- 
erate figure, but had an opportunity to sell him 
shortly afterwards to a breeder in Virginia, so that 
only a few colts sired by this stallion were bred at 
Walnut Grove. 

Mr, Nave was among the first to hold public sales 
of Percheron horses, and his auctions in November, 
1901, and in March, 1902, were important events 
in breed history. They were the first public sales 
of Percheron horses in eastern territory. Satisfac- 
tory prices were obtained, and the mares sold were 
distributed among many small breeders who now 
trace their success to this foundation stock. 

All in all, Mr. Nave's work as a breeder, exhibitor 
and advertiser of Percheron horses was of greatest 
importance. He undoubtedly did more to encourage 
farmers to use Percheron mares on their farms than 



444 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

any other breeder in the state of Indiana during this 
decade. 

H. B. Lyman, Lafayette, Lid., began breeding 
Percherons a little before the opening of the cen- 
tury. Among his foundation mares were Jessie 
24942, bred by George Shawver, Lewiston, 111., 
Celestine 12216 (22835), bought from Evan Jones, 
and Lafayette Fair 20783, bred by G. H. Van Dolah of 
Illinois. He also picked up a few good mares from 
other sources, and though his breeding operations 
were not extensive he produced some very good Per- 
cherons. Noble, bred by L. M. Yoder, was his 
first sire and left some excellent colts. Mr. Ly- 
man's Percheron breeding was incidental to his 
other business and to his farming interests, but he 
bred and sold many Percherons in Indiana and 
contributed to the popularity of the breed. 

C. A. Kandolph, Fowler, Ind., established a Per- 
cheron stud in 1903 by the purchase of a few mares, 
most of which were bought in northern Indiana and 
central Illinois. These mares were not of the largest 
type, but had the quality, and the size was increased 
by mating to good sires. Protecteur 30043 (47573) 
was the first sire placed in service. He was an 
imported stallion, a dark-brown in color, but of good 
size and type; he left some excellent colts. He was 
followed by Trasbot 34694 (51036), and he in turn 
was succeeded by Glorieux 50743 (59261). Glorieux 
sired a few high-class colts, but was not so extens- 
ively used as Buck 44521, bred by Mr. Randolph 
and sired by Trasbot. Buck was used for several 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 445 

years and his colts were of very satisfactory type, 
with more quality than the average. Mr. Randolph 
was successful in the showring with the sons and 
daughters of Buck, and this stallion undoubtedly 
contributed materially to the up-building of this 
breeding establishment. The horse was extensively 
used from 1908 until 1913. Mr. Randolph's disper- 
sion sale on Jan. 30, 1914, was one of the most suc- 
cessful ever held in Indiana. Mr. Randolph 's opera- 
tions were not so extensive as those of some others 
in the state during this decade, but he was a man 
of high character and extremely popular in his com- 
munity, so that his influence was much greater than 
the number of Percherons bred by him would indi- 
cate. He was unusually helpful in encouraging and 
assisting small breeders to get a start in Percherons. 

William Day, Fowler, Ind., bred only 30 Percher- 
ons during this decade, but laid a strong foundation 
for later M^ork. He, like numerous others among 
the smaller breeders in the state, was an aggressive 
champion of Percheron interests and assisted in pop- 
ularizing the breed. 

Wisconsin's Workers. — Wisconsin, seventh in 
Percheron breeding during the time imder consid- 
eration, had a total of 269 breeders by 1910 and pro- 
duced 1,388 Percherons of record during the dec- 
ade. Fred Pabst and G. N. Mihills were the leading 
breeders in the Badger state. The Richland County 
Horse Co., the Hagemeister Stock Farm and C. T). 
Holt & Son also produced a good many Percherons, 
and H. A. Babcock, Louis Lewellen, Jacob Burgy 



446 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and James J. Boyd were influential in Percheron 
affairs during this time. 

The Pabst Percheron business was greatly in- 
creased by the purchase of the entire stud of the 
Little Missouri Horse Co., of North Dakota, in 1906. 
This gave Fred Pabst a large band of high grade 
Percheron horses, including about 1,000 suckling 
colts that carried 3 or 4 crosses of Percheron blood. 
About 150 purebred Percherons were also included 
in this purchase, and while many of them lacked 
size on account of having been raised under range 
conditions, they were well bred and for the most 
part of good type and superior quality. More than 
30 of these mares were retained in the stud and 
proved good breeders. 

Mr. Pabst bought from the Hagemeister Stock 
Farm in the early part of the decade, and scattered 
purchases were made from H. D. & F. A. E-eed, the 
Hartman Stock Farm and various small breeders in 
AVisconsin. Due 50740 (53786) and Mylord 54216 
(64236) were the sires most in use, and both were 
effective in getting more size. 

Mr. Pabst and his family controlled the Pabst 
Brewing Co., of Milwaukee, and employed there 
and in branch establishments nearly 800 draft 
geldings. Experience had satisfied Fred Pabst that 
grade Percheron geldings were the most satisfac- 
tory for heavy draft work in the cities, and his su- 
perintendent, James Gr. Boyd, has long been recog- 
nized as one of the shrewdest judges of durable 
draft geldings. Practically all of the horses pur- 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPIGIOUSLY 447 

eliased were high grade Percherons, and it was de- 
cided to exhibit a six-horse team. In 1904 a six- 
horse team bearing the Pabst colors won the cham- 
pionship at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and 
at the Internationah The exhibition of this great 
team at leading shows was another factor in popu- 
larizing Percheron breeding. Much credit is due 
the Pabst establishment for showing the geldings 
at leading shows and for the exhibits of this firm 
at the Wisconsin State Fair. Every effort was 
made to encourage and assist small breeders in 
obtaining a start in Percheron horses, and a large 
share of the credit for Percheron improvement in 
Wisconsin must go to the Pabsts, father and son. 

Gr. N. Mihills, lumberman, had begun breeding 
Percherons in the '90 's and continued throughout 
this period. He made a number of purchases from 
the Pabst Stock Farm and reserved many of the 
females which he himself had bred. In spite of 
his Percherons being a side issue, Mr. Mihills pro- 
duced 100 of his own breeding during this period 
and made numerous sales throughout Wisconsin, 
assisting materially in the upbuilding the state's 
Percheron interests. Brentt 24062 and Eipon 22299 
were the chief sires used in the early part of the 
decade. Both were valuable stock horses. Brentt 
was more freely used than Ripon. 

The Richland County Horse Co. was composed 
of a number of farmers at Richland Center, Wis., 
who purchased a band of mares in 1905. J. W. 
Martin and R. C. Lybrand were the leading spirits 



448 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

in the movement. Althougli the mares were pur- 
chased and the business was conducted in the name 
of the Richland County Horse Co. the mares were 
in reality owned by the individual farmers. The 
stallions were owned by the company. The mares 
were purchased from various sources, but mainly 
in southeastern Iowa. They were of the rugged, 
drafty sort, but some were lacking in finish. While 
the Eichland County Horse Co. bred many Perche- 
rons during this period, very few of the farmers gave 
sufficient care and feed to their horses to obtain 
the best results. The criticism generally lodged 
against the colts bred in Eichland county was that 
they lacked size, frankly admitted to be due to 
lack of feed. A number of browns, chestnuts and 
bays were produced from this stock, which did not 
add to its popularity. All in all, however, the 
efforts of the farmers in the Richland County Horse 
Co. resulted in popularizing Percherons in that part 
of the state and induced more farmers to make 
a start with better horses. 

The Hagemeister Stock Farm, C. D. Holt «fe Son 
and Lewis Lewellen bred some good Percherons and 
sold many to local buyers. None of these firms did 
much in exhibiting at the leading shows, though 
Lewellen has been more active in later years and 
has made many exhibits of highly creditable Per- 
cherons at the Wisconsin State Fair. Mr. Lewellen 
also sold the foundation mares which P. F. Wick- 
ham of South Dakota used in founding his stud. 
The Lewellen mares have proved profitable in the 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 449 

hands of later owners, as they have been regular 
producers of saleable colts. 

H. A. Babcock's work was limited during this 
decade, but the horses he did breed were superior. 
Had his operations been larger Wisconsin's draft 
horse interests would be further advanced. 

James Gr. Boyd, of Milwaukee, Wis., bred a few 
Percherons on his farm near that city. His pref- 
erence always has been for the thick, drafty, easy- 
feeding kind, and while the horses which he had 
produced have not been so large as the Perche- 
rons bred in Illinois and Iowa, they have effected 
a decided improvement in the stud where they have 
been used. Most of Mr. Boyd's sales were made 
in Wisconsin, though he sold some Percherons to 
go to Canada. He has always been an aggressive 
champion of Percheron interests and because of 
his position as superintendent of the Pabst stables, 
for which he has purchased thousands of geldings, 
he has exerted a potent influence for draft horse 
improvement in the state. 

Work in Nebraska. — Nebraska, eighth in Perche- 
ron breeding during this period, had a total of 
229 breeders by 1910, and 1,518 Percherons bred in 
the state are recorded as foaled during this decade. 
North & Robinson and M. M. Coad were the lead- 
ing breeders, but Uehling & Grolder, Ehea Bro.. 
and James A. Barr were also active. 

North & Eobinson had a large ranch near Cairo, 
Neb., and practically handled their mares under 
ranch conditions. During part of the time the stal- 



450 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

lions ran in pasture with the mares. The firm 
made heavy imporations, mainly of stallions. The 
mares were purchased from many different sources, 
but chiefly in Illinois and Iowa. The trade was 
largely with the ranchmen of the west and the colts 
were raised in the pasture, so that many of them 
did not develop so much size as was to be found 
in the Percherons of Illinois and Iowa, but they 
were rugged, hardy youngsters, thoroughly accus- 
tomed to the range and profitable to the men who 
purchased them. The firm conducted numerous 
public sales, advertised liberally especially in the 
west, and exhibited to some extent at the Nebraska 
State Fair. North & Robinson contributed mat- 
erially to the building up of draft horse interests 
in the northwest and to the popularization of Per- 
cherons in that territory, 

Mark M. Goad's stud Avas continued on the lines 
already discussed, until his Percherons were dis- 
persed about 1905. It was unfortunate that they 
received so little feed and attention, as they were 
of superior breeding. Despite the fact that Mr. 
Goad's horses were not well grown out, they were 
of such type and quality as to win high honors 
year after year at the Nebraska State Fair and 
their merits were recognized by shrewd Percheron 
breeders. The mares bred in this stud were widely 
distributed, and their descendants have been found 
in many good breeding establishments, notably 
those of J. E. Wilson and Thomas Irvine of Minne- 
sota, G. H. Winship, William Thatch, Rhea Bros. 




LH BKLlvE S49S?. BRED IN SOUTH DAKOTA. DEVELOPED IN IOWA, AND 
NOW OWNED IN VIRGINIA. A GREAT BROOD MARE. CHAMPION AMER- 
ICAN-BRKD .MARE AT INTERNATIONAL LIVE STUCK EXPOSITION IN 1911. 



1 


k 


^^fl^'"*^ 


i ' I :/ 


1 





PERCHERON MARL GEoRGIAJSTA 2&&22, TAKEN AT 22 YBABS OF AGE AFTER 
SHE HAD PRODUCED 19 LIVING FOALS. 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 451 

and E. T. Graham of Nebraska and James H. Letts 
of Iowa. One of the best brood mares ever used 
at the Missouri Agricultural College came from the 
Coad stock, and many of the good Percherons in 
southwestern Iowa now trace to this breeding. 
Mark M. Coad left a profound impression upon 
Percheron breeding west of the Missouri River, and 
did more to popularize the breed in that country 
than any other breeder of his time. 

The work of Uehling & Golder, Rhea Bros, and 
James A. Barr already has been discussed in earlier 
chapters. All continued breeding Percherons 
throughout the entire decade, and all made improve- 
ments in the size and quality of their stock. There 
were numerous smaller breeders in the state. 

North Dakota's Great Range Project. — North 
Dakota, ninth in Percheron breeding during this 
decade, had a total of 160 breeders of Percherons 
by 1910, and 765 Percherons of record were bred 
in the state during this period. 

The Little Missouri Horse Co. had the most im- 
portant breeding establishment. While the stud 
was dispersed in 1906, the work done by this breed- 
ing establishment was uniquely important and rep- 
resentative of the improvement of range horses. 

The story of the Little Missouri Horse Co. is a 
romance of itself. A. C. Huidekoper, while hunt- 
ing buffaloes in North Dakota in 1880, was so im- 
pressed with the good grasses there that he started 
a cattle ranch. The heavy winter losses in '86 
and '87 caused him to swing to horses, and in 1889 



452 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

he took 7 Perclieron stallions and 26 mares to the 
ranch, about 30 miles south of Medora, S. D. With 
this seed stock he began the improvement of about 
500 grade horses. Many of the mares were of the 
trotting type, weighing not over 900 pounds. The 
work of grading up this mixed band of mares 
until in 1906 the holdings numbered more than 
4,000 head, with approximately 1,000 foals branded 
that season, all of true Perclieron type, was an 
object lesson of incalculable value to western horse- 
men. Some size was lacking, due to the fact the 
colts were raised on the range without grain, 
but the grades matured at weights from 1,500 to 
1,800 pounds and were so uniformly good that the 
type became famous among marketmen. Mr. Huide- 
koper, commenting on his reasons for preferriing 
Percherons for his work, says: 

''I can not refrain from calling attention to the 
activity of the Percheron horse. My experience 
at the ranch taught me that a Percheron stallion 
turned into a large corral will take the exercise that 
he requires to keep him in good, serviceable con- 
dition. Furthermore, he does it intelligently. When 
first turned out he takes several minutes to play, 
to work off his surplus spirit, and then looks over 
the corral to see what is going on outside. He 
watches the men at the cookhouse, the men at the 
stable, the people around the ranch. If he sees a 
cowboy saddling up, he knows the rider is going 
out to get the harem. During the interval of waiting 
he trots around and around his enclosure, and takes 
his exercise like an athlete in training. This disposi- 
tion of the Percheron to be active and to keep 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 453 

himself in serviceable condition we considered to 
be of decided economic importance on the ranch. 
Our Percherons, as the result of their activity 
proved surer than any other draft horses we used. 
Our Percheron stallions proved to be the most pre- 
potent of any draft sires we ever used. So marked 
was their impress on the range mares that the 
Percheron foals could be picked out without diffi- 
culty or question." 

Jericho 12609 (18827) was one of the first stal- 
lions used. Included in the importation made by 
Mr. Huidekoper in 1889, he was a high-class 
horse, heavy-boned, with great finish, and weighed 
over a ton. He was a horse of showyard cal- 
iber in use on a ranch, and while his merits seemed 
wasted in some degree, his type was so distinctive 
that he proved an extremely valuable sire on the 
purebred mares, as well as on the grades. One of 
the best stallions used later was Rival 22471, bred 
on the ranch and sired by Jericho. Although 
range-bred he weighed over a ton and was a beaut- 
ifully balanced, deep-bodied, heavy-boned, sym- 
metrical horse of real showyard character. Peer 
14379 was another range-bred sire of much the 
same type, but smaller. 

The Percheron sires used by the Little Missouri 
Horse Co. were so notably successful that the draft 
stallions of other breeds were soon discarded. The 
colts by the Percheron sires were uniform in type, 
whether from large or small mares, and were so 
like the sires in conformation, symmetry, quality 
and spirit that they proved to be durable, saleable 



454 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horses. A large number of the geldings were ship- 
ped to the breaking and fitting stables at Conneaut 
Lake, Pa., from which they were sold to ice com- 
panies in Boston and New York. These horses aver- 
aged about 1,550 pounds each, although some of 
them weighed more than 1,800 pounds. The brand 
proved a handicap, but the true worth of the horses 
overcame this difficulty. 

Here was a powerful influence at work in favor of 
the Percheron breed for range conditions. Horse- 
men from all over the northwest came to this ranch 
to study the results obtained and to purchase range- 
bred sires for use on their own grade stocks. The 
purebred Percherons proved as hardy as the range- 
bred grades. The Percheron mares lived on the 
range both summer and winter. The stallions were 
taken up late in the fall and fitted for spring serv- 
ice. The Percherons proved durable, adaptable, 
hardy, and preeminently suited to the improvement 
of the light-weight range-bred mares. No other 
breeding establishment in the northwest carried out 
such a persistent and extended campaign along 
well-defined lines in the improvement of the native 
horses. The fact that the Huidekoper family pos- 
sessed an eastern establishment where the horses 
could be broken and fitted for sale was another fac- 
tor of importance, as it provided for the placing of 
these range horses on the leading eastern city mar- 
kets on the basis of their true value as draft horses. 
The brand became so well known in the eastern 
markets that horses of this type and breeding 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 455 

speedily came into general demand in spite of the 
prejudice against branded western horses. 

Work effected in North Dakota by the Little Mis- 
souri Horse Co. was far-reaching, resulting to a 
greater extent than that of any other breeding es- 
tablishment in the northwestern states in popular- 
izing Percherons for use on the range. Great credit 
must be given to A. C. Huidekoper, who founded 
this enterprise and to Earle C. Huidekoper, who as 
general manager after 1896 directed the systematic 
improvement of the horses bred on this ranch. Per- 
cheron breeders generally have known little of the 
work of this breeding establishment, and it has been 
belittled by some on account of the fact that some 
of the Percherons raised there, which subsequently 
passed into the cornbelt states through Fred Pabst's 
stud, were lacking in size. This was due to the fact 
they were raised under range conditions and was 
not traceable to any weakness in the foundation 
stock. The story of the work of the Little Missouri 
Horse Co. is an epic of the northwest. It is fitting 
that due credit should be given in the history of the 
Percheron to the mighty influence wielded by this 
stud in the development of Percheron interests on 
the ranges of the west. 

The Riverside Ranch Co., controlled by Cosgrove 
Bros, of St. Paul, carried out on a somewhat smaller 
scale the same kind of work that had been done by 
the Little Missouri Horse Co. This stud was closed 
out just before the beginning of the century, and 
reference is made to it here on account of the fact 



456 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

that the horses bred on Eiverside Ranch were dis- 
tributed into some of the leading studs in Canada 
and their descendants are to be found today among 
the Percherons owned by George Lane, D. J. Wylie 
and Upper Bros. 

White Bros., C. F. White, 0. 0. Ellison, P. A. 
Manseau and the Coal Harbor Stock Farm were 
other Nbrth Dakota Percheron breeders of import- 
ance during this time. None of them bred a large 
number of Percherons, but they did produce good 
horses and by their work in distributing Percheron 
sires aided in popularizing the breed for range 
horse improvement. P.' A. Manseau, in particular, 
although a small breeder, was instrumental in en- 
couraging many other farmers and ranchmen to 
engage in Percheron breeding in a small way, and 
many of the studs now in North Dakota owe their 
existence to the encouragement which he gave. 

Progress in South Dakota. — South Dakota, tenth 
in Percheron breeding, had a total of 171 breeders 
by 1910, and 701 Percherons bred in the state were 
foaled during this period. Alex. Miller was the 
leading South Dakota breeder of this period, but his 
work practically ceased in 1905. During this half- 
decade, however, he bred 54 Percherons of record, 
and his mares which passed into other studs have 
since made history. Miller-bred mares have won 
the highest honors at the International. La Belle 
34982, one of the daughters of Brunelles 11415 
(12162), was the champion American-bred mare at 
the International in 1911, and is today one of the 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 457 

greatest brood mares of the breed. Mr. Miller was 
one of the really constructive breeders of Percherons 
and South Dakota suffered a loss beyond calculation 
when he found it necessary to curtail his Percheron 
breeding operations. 

J. J. Fry, James R. Warden, W. H. Miller, A. D. 
McClelland & Son, Hugh McGlinchy and M. A. 
Hommersand were other leading breeders in the 
state. None of them bred a large number of Per- 
cherons, but they produced horses much above the 
average in the state, and by their work and their 
exhibitions at local shows did much to raise the 
standard of the draft horses in the state. 

Marked improvement in the common horses pro- 
duced in South Dakota was effected during this 
time, and the average selling price of Dakota-bred 
geldings advanced decidedly because of the wide- 
spread distribution of Percheron sires, due largely 
to the work of the small breeders. 

In Other States. — Michigan, Missouri, Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia and California were the eleventh, 
twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth states 
respectively in Percheron breeding. Colorado, Mon- 
tana, Washington, New York, Oklahoma and Oregon 
followed in the order named. Michigan bred 686 
Percherons of record during this decade, and Ore- 
gon, the last named, isi credited with 107 for the 
same period. 

Michigan. — In Michigan Henry C. Waldron, A. A. 
Palmer, C. Kern and John Hanchett were the leading 
breeders. Mr. Hanchett in particular had some very 



458 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

good mares and a sire of unusual excellence, but he 
found it necessary to close out his holdings and his 
entire bunch was sold to A. P. Nave of Indiana. 
Progress in Michigan was relatively slow on account 
of the fact that the farmers were not accustomed to 
using- heavy horses and did not realize their advan- 
tages over lightweights. The persistent work of 
the breeders named and a number of others was 
effective, however, in gradually educating them to 
the advantages accruing from the use of draft horses, 
and large numbers of grade drafters and many 
purebred Percherons have been shipped into the 
state in the last 5 years. 

Missouri. — lu Missouri A. M. Walker, J. W. Barn- 
hart, J. F. Boelofson, K S. Cox and J. M. West 
were the leading breeders. Mr, Walker bred almost 
as many as his three leading contemporaries. Prog- 
ress in Missouri was slow because Missouri farmers 
were more familiar with mules than with draft 
horses. The belief that draft horses would not stand 
the hot weather was another retarding factor. Be- 
sides, scalpers and speculators did a great deal of 
harm by purchasing coarselegged horses which were 
at a discount in draft horse breeding sections and 
disposing of them to men in Missouri, who on ac- 
count of their unfamiliarity with good draft horses 
did not know that they were being supplied witli 
inferior stock. The certain failure of these stallions 
created a prejudice against all draft horses which 
the Percheron breeders in Missouri found difficult 
to overcome. However, their persistent work in 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 459 

selecting Perclierons of good type and (luality, well 
adapted to stand hot weather, and the success which 
they themselves achieved in using Percherons in 
Missouri, even during the hot weather, gradually 
had its influence upon farmers. Within the last 8 
years a large number of draft horses, both grade 
and purebred, has been taken into Missouri, par- 
ticularly into the northern part. While no studs of 
national reputation have been developed within the 
state, some very good horses have been bred there 
and the number of breeders has been very greatly 
increased. 

Pennsylvania. — In Pennsylvania William Paden, 
Bond Bros., George A. Hogg and Powell Bros, were 
the leading breeders, and the Little Missouri Horse 
Co., which continued in a small way after closing 
out its holdings in North Dakota, also bred quite a 
number of Percherons in Pennsylvania. Sales with- 
in the state were limited, however, as Pennsylvania 
farmers in general have been slow to use heavy 
horses. A disposition prevailed for many years to 
buy young western horses in thin condition for farm 
work, disposing of them when they reached matur- 
ity. This policy retarded Percheron breeding and 
the state has never produced as many horses as 
actually are needed for its own use. The work of 
the few breeders located in Pennsylvania did, how- 
ever, favorably influence draft horse breeding in 
the state and the number of draft mares kept on 
Pennsylvania farms is being slowly but surely in- 
creased. 



460 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

Virginia. — In Virginia John F. Lewis, E. B. White, 
D. M. Cloyd and Charles Edgar were the leading 
breeders during this period and there were many 
other smaller breeders scattered throughout the 
state. Charles Edgar's stud was dispersed about 
the close of the decade and most of the Percherons 
owned by him were shipped west. The John F. 
Lewis stud was dispersed a little later, but most of 
these horses were distributed in Virginia and ad- 
joining states. 

0. E. Jordan. — Located in the extreme southwest- 
ern part of Virginia, Mr. Jordan did a great good 
for Percheron interests. The Jordan family has 
been breeding Percherons persistently since early in 
the eighties, having used some very excellent sires, 
including the stallion Victoria 24449 (42905), sire 
of the champion Pink. While none of the breeders 
in this particular district has bred many Per- 
cherons they have had horses of very superior 
type and with perhaps more size and real draft 
character than most of those produced in Virginia. 
Mr. Jordan's operations have been more far-reaching 
and have exerted a more favorable influence on 
draft horse breeding than the number of Percherons 
he has bred would indicate. 

Selma Farm. — E. B. White began breeding Per- 
cherons in 1903, and today his stud is recognized 
as one of the high-class breeding establishments of 
the United States. The Selma Farm stud was 
started in 1903 by the purchase of 2 mares from the 
Hartman Stock Farm. In 1904 the two first-prize 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 461 

mares at the St. Louis Exposition, Zaza 24618 and 
Fauvette 27223, were purchased from J. C. Robison 
of Kansas. Both of these mares were daughters of 
the famous brood mare Fine 13085 (26998), im- 
ported by W. L. Ellwood. Mr. White made addi- 
tional purchases from time to time, seeking to obtain 
the best mares possible. He imported 23 mares from 
France, a number of which were noted in the show- 
ring. Besides these Mr. White purchased some 
noted American-bred show mares. The American- 
bred mares and their produce proved more satis- 
factory in the stud than the imported mares. Prac- 
tically all the best horses produced at Selma Farm 
have been bred from the mares secured in this 
country. 

One of the first stallions used by Mr, White was 
Sam 52055 (54508), third-prize winner at the Inter- 
national in 1906 ; he left some good colts, which have 
been successful sires. Cassius 35839, which Mr. 
White purchased as a stallion foal at the side of 
Zaza in 1904, was also used to some extent. Mr. 
White's determination to have the best Percherons 
possible to obtain lead him to purchase Etudiant 
70802 (59291), Avhich he imported in 1909. Etudiant 
was at that time considered one of the best individ- 
uals in France and had quite a reputation as a sire. 
He stood about 17.1 high and was deep-bodied, mas- 
sive, well-proportioned, and of drafty type, with 
extraordinarily heavy muscling in the quarters and 
haunches. He was open to some criticism for being 
somewhat too straight in his hind pasterns, but he 



462 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

was a horse of excellent type and quality and 
weighed 2,100 pounds. Etudiant had beaten Car- 
not 66666 (66666) at the Percheron society show at 
Nogent in 1909 and was being fitted for exhibition 
at the 1909 International Live Stock Exposition 
when he contracted influenza which settled in his 
testicles and made it impossible to show him. This 
practically ruined him for breeding purposes for 
some years following. He begot only 7 purebred 
colts while in use at Selma Farm and for this reason 
did not materially influence the development of the 
stud. 

Dragon 52155 (63516), champion at the Interna- 
tional in 1907, was obtained by Mr. White to suc- 
ceed Etudiant and results from his services have 
been so satisfactory that he is now properly ranked 
among the leading sires of the breed. 

Selma FaiTa is one of the few breeding establish- 
ments in this country where particular emphasis 
has been placed on quality and uniformity in type 
and conformation. The foundation mares selected 
were the best that could be obtained in France or 
America, and while numerous disappointments 
were encountered in securing a sire of the first rank, 
some excellent colts were got. The policy of re- 
taining the best animals in the stud and eliminating 
all that did not come up to the desired standard in 
type and quality has given Selma Farm one of the 
most uniform bands of Percherons now existing in 
the United States. During the period considered 
this stud has been the most important factor in 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 463 

Percheron breeding in the eastern part of tlie 
United States. The work done at Selma Farm in- 
fluenced others to establish stnds in the eastern 
states and many small breeding establishments there 
now have animals tracing to this stud. 

California. — In California no studs of outstanding- 
importance were developed during the decade, but 
J. F. Spaulding, J. W. Johnston, Mrs. Eschleman 
Sherman, H, T. Liliencrantz and the California 
Polytechnic School all had establishments of some 
consequence, which aided in the improvement of 
draft horses in the state. Conditions in California, 
however, have not been favorable to the develop- 
ment of draft horse interests. There are but two 
seasons, one wet and one dry, and the long dry sea- 
son has been particularly favorable to the use of 
tractors. Besides this, the tendency to operate 
California farms in large areas devoted to small 
grain lead to the employment of large numbers of 
men whose knowledge of horsemanship was so rudi- 
mentary as to make it unsafe to trust them wdth 
good draft mares. Mule teams and tractors were 
mostly used, so that horse-breeding interests in 
California have been greatly retarded and it is 
doubtful whether the state will ever come to the 
general use of draft horses in any such degree as 
prevails in the Mississippi Valley. Great progress 
has been made in recent years, however, and more 
Percherons are being purchased than ever before. 

Colorado. — In Colorado A. J. Zang, the Yampa Live 
Stock Co. and Nels Shuland were the only breeders 



464 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEKON HORSE 

with any considerable number of Percherons, but 
there were many small breeders who bred a few. 
A. J. Zang bought some good mares and an unusu- 
ally high-class stallion in founding his stud and the 
horses he has bred have been very favorably com- 
mented upon by some of the best judges in the 
United States. The stallion Champagne 51743 
(65402), used in the stud practically from its incep- 
tion, proved extremely prepotent and his colts are 
characterized by uniformity in type and by excellent 
quality. The persistent work done in this stud has 
aided in large measure all Percheron-breeding in- 
terests in Colorado. The greatest progress in this 
state, however, has been made in grading up the 
native range horses, in which Percherons have had 
the leading part. The free use of Percheron stal- 
lions on the native horses in Colorado has increased 
the size, improved the sjmimetry and conformation, 
and brought about such improvement in the general 
type and quality of the horses that they are worth 
from two to three times as much as the native stock 
from which they sprang. A large proportion of 
the range horses in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana 
and other western states, carrying from two to three 
crosses of Percheron blood, have weighed from 
1,350 to 1,500 pounds at maturity, even when raised 
under range conditions without grain feed, and have 
made admirable heavy artillery horses for use in 
the European war. Hundreds of thousands of these 
good western-bred horses have been purchased and 
shipped abroad for artillery and cavalry uses. The 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 465 

horses produced in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana 
and adjacent states by the use of Percheron blood 
have been much alike in type and conformation and 
have yielded a handsome profit to the ranchmen 
who bred them. 

Montana. — In Montana A. A. Sandahl, the Ball 
Eanch Co. and John F. Forbis were the leading 
breeders. A. A. Sandahl 's entire stud was dis- 
persed about the close of this decade, the majority 
of the horses going to Oliver Jenkins of California. 
No stallions of outstanding importance were used 
in the purebred studs in this state during the decade 
and the chief work done by the Percheron breeders 
in Montana was along the same general lines as in 
Colorado. 

Washington. — In Washington the conditions were 
intermediate between those existing in California 
and those prevailing in Colorado and Montana. Prog- 
ress was slow and was retarded in some degree by 
the fact that some inferior horses were sold at long 
prices by speculators and scalpers to inexperienced 
men. The work of the Percheron breeders in Wash- 
ington has aided in overcoming this and in recent 
years better horses have been distributed throughout 
the state. P. W. Cox & Sons, The Stooke & Amery 
Ranch Co. and Fryer Bros, were among the leading 
breeders in the state and there were a number of 
small breeding establishments which have since 
grown to some importance. 

New York. — No developments of importance took 
place in New York during the decade, except the 



466 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

establishment of the Heart's Delight stud at Chazy, 
N. Y. This stud, founded by the purchase of some 
very high-class mares, has gradually increased its 
Percheron holdings and bids fair to become one of 
the most important breeding establishments in the 
United States, when the quality and size of the ani- 
mals produced are taken into consideration. The 
earlier stallions used were not particularly success- 
ful as sires, but Idlefonse 79307 (83004), champion 
at the 1913 International, was purchased at that 
show and is getting more satisfactory colts than the 
sires which preceded him. 

New York has been slow in increasing its invest- 
ments in draft horses ; the tendency has been to pur- 
chase work horses rather than produce them. Per- 
cheron breeders scattered throughout the state are 
gradually overcoming this and it is probable that 
New York will in the future produce a much larger 
number of the horses needed than it has done in 
the past. 

About all that occurred in most of the other states 
during this decade were the establishment and grad- 
ual development of small Percheron studs, many of 
which may prove to be of importance in the future. 

Growth of the Percheron Society of America. — 
The new association, organized Dec. 23, 1902, was 
known at that time as the American Percheron 
Horse Breeders and Importers Association. The 
capital stock was originally $10,000. In August, 
1905, legal action was taken to change the name to 
The Percheron Society of America. The capital 




Ed.Nicodemus ~] %^ [ c/.B.M^lamMm 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 467 

stock was increased to $20,000 in February, 1907, 
and in July, 1908, was increased to $30,000. By the 
time of the annual meeting in November, 1910, all 
capital stock had been sold, and there were many 
other breeders desirous of becoming members. The 
capital stock was, therefore, increased to $100,000, 
consisting of 10,000 shares of $10 each. 

The growth of the association was extremely 
rapid, the membership having increased to almost 
2,900 separate breeders, between December, 1902, 
and Nov. 28, 1910. In February, 1911, the McLaugh- 
lin interests, previously referred to, were absorbed 
by the Percheron Society of America, and this 
brought about an increase of approximately 100 
members. The rapid expansion of Percheron inter- 
ests, and the very considerable increase in number 
of breeders actually owning Percheron mares and 
engaged in the production of Percheron horses, led 
to an extraordinary increase in membership, ex- 
celled by but one association in America. 

On Nov. 28, 1910, there were 3,000 shares of stock 
outstanding in the hands of approximately 2,900 
members. At the close of the fiscal year, Oct. 31, 
1916, less than six years later, there were 8,330 shares 
of outstanding stock of the Percheron Society of 
America in the hands of more than 8,000 members. 
This membership was scattered over the entire 
United States and Canada, although Illinois, Iowa, 
Ohio and Kansas, pioneers in Percheron breeding, 
still held more than one-third of the total member- 
ship. 



468 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEBON HORSE 

Of registrations made, certificates of pedigree 
numbered from 1 to 35,912 were issued under the 
regime of S. D. Thompson, Secretary. The numbers 
from 35,912 to 40,000 are vacant. Some certificates 
above 35,912 bearing S. D. Thompson's signature 
were issued during a short period of conflict, but 
these have been declared null and void. Certificates 
numbered from 40,00 to 70,335 were issued under 
the administration of George W. Stubblefield, as 
Secretary. There are some vacant numbers in this 
30,335, due to the system of numbering in vogue at 
that time. Registrations from 70,335 on have no va- 
cant numbers. All certificates of pedigree numbered 
above 70,335 to date have been issued under the ad- 
ministration of Secretary Dinsmore, beginning Aug. 
1, 1910. Between Aug. 1, 1910, and the close of the 
fiscal year, Oct. 31, 1916, approximately 58,000 pedi- 
grees were issued. The fact that almost 58,000 pedi- 
grees were issued in the past six years, while the 
total number issued in the preceding 34 years 
amounted to approximately 65,000, illustrates the 
tremendous expansion in Percheron breeding that 
has occurred in recent years. It also illustrates the 
fact that progress in breeding purebred live stock 
becomes cumulative as the years roll by. 

A Canadian Association. — The Canadian Perche- 
ron Horse Breeders' Association completes the trio 
of great organizations engaged in promoting the 
Percheron horse. It was incorporated under the 
act . respecting live stock record associations in 
Canada, Dec. 3, 1907, accepted all registrations 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 469 

made by the Societe Hippique Percheronne de 
France, and the Percheron Society of America, 
the parent organizations, as valid, and has been 
actively engaged in the promotion of Percheron 
interests since that time. The actual registrations 
are made by the National Live Stock Records at 
Ottawa, as the Canadian registrations are made 
under a department of the Canadian government. 
The inauguration of this system was due largely to 
the fact that breeders were few and widely scat- 
tered, and lacked the financial organization neces- 
sary to properly care for the interests of many breeds 
which were represented in Canada by small num- 
bers of breeders. This, combined with the paternal 
tendency of the Canadian Government, led to the 
establishment of the National Live Stock Records, 
which controls the registration of all animals in the 
Dominion of Canada. Associations of breeders exist, 
however, for each breed, and said associations re- 
ceive a certain percentage of the fees paid in to the 
National Live Stock Records for promotion work. 

W. B. Thorne, of Aldersyde, Alberta, was elected 
as first President of the Canadian Percheron Horse 
Breeders' Association, and served from 1907 to 191L 
F. R. Pike, of High River, Alberta, was Secretary- 
Treasurer from 1907 to 1915 inclusive. R. C. Upper 
was President during 1912, Geo. Lane in 1913, J. C. 
Drewry in 1914 and Geo. Lane during the years 1915 
and 1916. 

The work of the association has been to act in an 
advisory capacity on matters relating to the regis- 



470 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

tration of Percheron horses with the National Live 
Stock Records, decide upon the form in which the 
stud books shall be published, and to promote, by 
advertising, grants of special prizes, and in all other 
proper ways, the breeding of Percheron horses in the 
Dominion of Canada. The association has been 
handicapped by lack of funds, and the breeders gen- 
erally consider that the plan of organization fol- 
lowed in the United States, where the breeders of 
each kind of live stock control their own associa- 
tions and attend to the registration and promotion 
work, is much more effective in promoting breed 
interests. 

Percheron Breeding in Canada. — While some Per- 
cheron breeding had been done in the Dominion of 
Canada during the '80 's, as noted in previous chap- 
ters, relatively little progress was made by Perche- 
rons until after 1900. The population of Canada 
was, prior to that time, largely in the eastern part 
of the Dominion, and was made up in large part of 
settlers from Great Britain and Scotland, who, nat- 
urally, brought their own breeds of horses with 
them, had well settled preferences for the same, 
and were further encouraged to handle the British 
breeds rather than breeds drawn from the United 
States or the continent by the aggressive action of 
English and Scotch live stock men who employed 
many of the Canadian stockmen as agents in fact, if 
not in name, by furnishing numbers of animals on 
easy terms, to be sold in Canada. This naturally 
tied the Canadians by close business connections 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 471 

with the breeders in Great Britain and Scotland so 
that it was extremely difficult for other breeds to 
obtain any foothold in the eastern part of the Do- 
minion. 

With the development of the great Northwest, 
Percherons came into more general demand. Many 
of the settlers had come from the United States and 
were well acquainted with the advantages which 
Percherons possessed. Aside from this, extensive 
traffic in live stock and in many other lines of busi- 
ness sprung up between the provinces of western 
Canada and the western part of the United States. 

The first extensive breeder of Percherons in west- 
em Canada was George Lane, of the Bar U Ranch. 
This great cattle outfit handled large numbers of 
horses, and Mr. Lane, the managing partner, says 
as follows: 

''When I first came to Canada from Montana, in 
1883, tO' take charge of the cattle on what was then 
the newly started Bar U Ranch, I was particularly 
impressed by the absence of horses such as we had 
been accustomed to in Montana, and some of the 
other western states. By this I mean horses that 
were able to do ordinary hauling and farm work, 
and that also had the endurance and the speed 
necessary for making long trips to the railroad, to 
the democrat or buckboard. 

"After considering the matter carefully, and 
noting conditions in different localities, I came to 
the conclusion that it was Percheron blood that was 
lacking in the horses of western Canada. There 
were some excellent horses, particularly those sired 
by Thoroughbred stallions, but the majority of the 



472 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

horses were not equal in type or utility to the Mon- 
tana Percheron grades I had been accustomed to. 
Having fully made up my mind that the Percheron 
horse was what was required in western Canada, I 
set to work as soon as I was able, to try and obtain 
some of the right kind. I secured and used some 
Percheron stallions on our grade mares, and in 1898 
we purchased, from James Mauldin of Dillon, Mont., 
his entire herd of Percherons, known as the Diamond 
O bunch. This comprised about 35 head of Perche- 
rons of excellent type, conformation and quality. 
They were heavy boned, matronly mares, with the 
best of underpinning, and these mares proved to be 
producers of the kind of horses which breeders are 
always looking for. We also obtained about 1200 
head of grade Percherons from Mauldin at the same 
time, and added these to our holdings of grade 
horses. 

"The same year that we bought the Mauldin 
Percherons, we purchased the tops from the Eiver 
Side Ranch Company's Percheron stud. These were 
known as the H. F. mares. These, added to the 
Diamond mares obtained from Mauldin, gave us 
the foundation of our present Percheron stud. 

"Among the earliest and best sires we used were 
Paris 12016 and Presbourg 29982 (48649). Both 
gave us good results, and Presbourg particularly 
proved to be an extremely prepotent sire of high- 
class brood mares. Experienced judges, in going 
over the band of mares in 1914 with a view to se- 
lecting the brood mares of the best type, picked on 
more Presbourg mares than mares of any other 
breeding, and these matrons have been noted as 
among the best producers in our stud." 

In 1906 Mr. Lane went to France and selected a 
few mares. He subsequently made importations in 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 473 

1908, 1909 and 1910, importing more than 100 head 
of the best mares he could find in France, and se- 
lected the best stock sires he could possibly obtain. 
The policy has been to keep practically all of the 
mares produced, and the stud now numbers consider- 
ably over 400 head of purebred Percherons, the 
largest single band of Percheron horses owned in 
the world. Halifax 60328 (75867), Pinson 57211 
(63122) and Americain 61316 (63422) are the chief 
sires now in service. 

The Percherons produced at the Bar U and Na- 
maka ranches under the direction of Mr. Lane are 
of superior type and quality. So good a judge as 
James Fletcher frankly stated that he did not be- 
lieve any other breeder had 20 mares that were equal 
to the 20 best mares in this stud. Louis Aveline, 
who visited the stud in 1915, also stated that the 
Percherons being produced on these ranches were 
equal to any produced in France, and added that 
he did not believe it would be possible to select from 
any one establishment in France, at the present time, 
three stallions equal to the three stallions then in 
service. 

Careful management and intelligent feeding have 
enabled Mr. Lane to produce Percherons of as much 
size as any produced in the cornbelt states. Over 
90 foals were raised in 1915, and 117 foals were 
raised in 1916. Men who have watched the devel- 
opment of this stud for years are outspoken in their 
admiration of the Percherons produced. Present in- 
dications are that this breeding establishment will 



474 A HISTORY OF THE PBECHERON HORSE 

make a success, financially and otherwise, of the 
productions of Percherons on a large scale, as the de- 
mand for the horses produced is already in excess 
of the supply, and profitable prices are being paid 
for the horses in cash right at the ranches. Rela- 
tively little advertising has been done, and no mares 
have been sold except in small bands to Canadian 
breeders who desired to make a start in Percherons, 
but in spite of this, it has not been possible, to date, 
to produce nearly as many stallions as the trade 
called for. 

W. B. Thome of Aldersyde, Alberta, and S. A. 
Davenport of Acme, Alberta, are very aggressive 
breeders who have produced Percherons of show- 
yard caliber, and who have been particularly ag- 
gressive in promoting Percheron interests in the 
Dominion. 

J. C. Drewry established one of the larger Per- 
cheron studs about 1907 or 1908, purchased some 
of the best to be found in the United States, and 
had bred colts of veiy high-class character, achieving 
notable success in the showring, but his career 
was cut short by his untimely death in 1914. "While 
the -stud is still being carried on under the direc- 
tion of the estate, the loss of Mr. Drewry, who was 
a good advertiser and particularly skillful in pro- 
moting Percheron interests through the public press, 
has been seriously felt by his fellow breeders. 

There are numerous other smaller breeders in 
northwestern Canada, but it is impossible to discuss 
all. Great credit must go to the Percheron breed- 



THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 475 

ers of western Canada for their aggressive campaign 
in behalf of Percheron interests, confronted with 
hostile sentiment. They have made notable progress, 
and the breed is today the most popular one in Al- 
berta, and is making very rapid headway in Sas- 
katchewan and Manitoba. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUC- 
TION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Tlie most accurate guide to the distribution of 
Percherons in the United States, so far as purebred 
breeding stock is concerned, is believed to be found 
in an analysis of the registrations made in the Per- 
cheron Society of America year by year. While this 
gives only the number of horses recorded from each 
state during the year under consideration, it affords 
accurate knowledge as to the distribution of pure- 
bred mares throughout the United States, and it is 
a matter of record in the reports of the stallion en- 
rollment boards that the Percheron stallions are dis- 
tributed in practically the same proportion. 

The Percheron Society of America recorded 9,044 
Percherons during the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 
1916; all but 140 of these were American-bred. Illi- 
nois, which has occupied front rank in Percheron 
breeding since the beginning, stood first with 2,014 
head, or 22.27 percent of the total. Iowa, which from 
earliest days has followed closely after Illinois, 
ranked second with 1,772 registrations, or 19.59 
percent of the total. Ohio, the state to which the 
first Percherons were imported, was third with 747 
registrations, or 8.26 percent of the total. Kansas, 

476 




Illinois had in 1916 1,709 members of the Pereheron Society of America. 
The total number of Pereheron horses recorded from Illinois between Nov. 1, 1915, 
and Oct. 31, 1916, was 2,014. The number appearing in each County is the 
number of Pereheron horses recorded from that County between Nov. 1, 1915, and 
Oct. 31, 1916, inclusive. 

477 



478 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 







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the leading Percheron-breeding center west of the 
Missouri River, stood fourth, with 653 head recorded 
during the year, 7.22 percent of the total. Nebraska 
came fifth, with 466 head, or 5.15 percent; Wiscon- 



Reg-is- 


Percent 


trat 


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of total 


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.12 


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,11 


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New Mexico !-36th , 

District of 
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DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 479 

sin, sixth, with 414, or 4.58 percent ; Indiana, seventh, 
with 367, or 4.06 percent, and Minnesota, eighth, with 
347, or 3.84 percent. 

The rank of the otlier states was as follows: 

Regris- Percent 

trations of total 

South Dakota. 9th 336 3 . 72 

North Dakota, 10th 298 3 . 30 

Missouri, 11th 251 2.78 

Pennsylvania, 12th 211 2.33 

Michig-an, 13th 180 1.99 

Montana. 14th 152 1.68 

Oklahoma. 15th 184 1.48 

California, 16th 99 1 . 10 

Virg-inia, 17th 91 1.01 

New York, 18th 79 .86 

Idaho, 19th 67 .74 

Oregon, 20th. 55 .61 

Washing-ton, 21st 48 .53 

Colorado, 22d 47 .52 

Texas, 23d 32 .36 

Canada, 24th 30 .33 

Utah, 25th 28 .31 

Wyoming-, 26th 25 .28 

West Virgrinia. 27th 22 .24 

The tendency for the breeding of any class of live 
stock to become concentrated in districts where it 
was first introduced and where its merits are most 
widely known is indicated in this data. Illinois and 
Iowa contributed 41.86 percent of the total registra- 
tions recorded during the year, while more than half 
of the Percherons recorded were raised in the first 
three states — Illinois, Iowa and Ohio. 

The first eight states contributed 74.97 percent of 
the total number of Percherons registered during 
the year, while all the other states combined con- 
tributed only 25 percent. Nevertheless, the wide dis- 
tribution of Percherons in the United States is 
shown by the fact that they were recorded during 
the year from 45 states, counting the District 
of Columbia and Canada. The number recorded 



480 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 



from Canada, however, was but a mere fraction of 
the total. Most of the Percherons in Canada are 
recorded in the Canadian Percheron Stud Book: the 




Ohio had in 1916 779 members of the Percheron Society of America, The 
total number of Percheron horses recorded from Ohio between ITov;, 1, 1915, and 
Oct. 31, 1916, was 747, The number appearing in each County is the number 
of Percheron horses recorded from that county between Nov. 1, 1915, and Oct. 31, 
1916, inclusive. 

ones registered in the Percheron Society of America 
are those selected to compete for special prizes 
offered by the Percheron Society of America in Ca- 



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DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 



483 



nadian shows, or those which have been recorded 
here to permit of their exportation to the United 
States, if opportunity arises. 




Wisconsin had in 1916 366 members of the Peroheron Society of America. 
The total number of Peroheron horses recorded from Wisconsin between Nov. 1, 
1915, and Oct. 31, 1916, was 414. The number appearing in each County is the 
number of Peroheron horses recorded from that County between Kov. 1, 1916, 
and Oct. 31, 1916, inclusive. 

Another indication of the widespread distribution 
of Percheron breeding is the fact that the 9,044 reg- 




total 



Indiana had in 1916 412 members of the Percheron Society of Amenca. The 
xoxal number of Percheron horses recorded from Indiana between Nov. 1, 131&, 
and Oct. 31, 1916, was 367. The number appearing in each County is the number 
of Percheron horses recorded from that County between Nov. 1, 1915, and Oct. 
31, 1916, inclusive. 



484 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 



485 



istrations were made by 4,347 breeders, an average 
of only about 2 per breeder. This means that a 




Minnesota had In 1916 397 members of the Percheron Society of America. 
The total number of Percheron horses recorded from Minnesota between Nov. 
1, 1915, and Oct. 31, 1916, was 347. The number appearing in each County is 
the number of Percheron horses recorded from that County between Nov, 1, 1915, 
and Oct. 31, 1916, inclusive. 

great many breeders recorded but one animal, as 
many others recorded from 5 to 10 head each. 

In Illinois the breeding of Percherons is concen- 



486 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

trated very largely in 10 counties in the north-cen- 
tral part of the state, contiguous to each other. 
These 10 counties contributed more than 53 percent 
of the Percherons recorded by Illinois breeders dur- 
ing the year. The counties, in order of rank and 
with the number of horses recorded, are as follows : 
McLean, 186; LaSalle, 168; Iroquois, 125; Living- 
ston, 109; Tazewell, 109; Fulton, 87; Ford, 82; Mc- 
Donough, 76 ; Bureau, 70, and Woodford County, 62. 
This represents a total of 1,074 registrations from 
the 10 counties, out of 2,014 for the entire state. 

In Iowa the leading counties are more widely scat- 
tered. The first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh and 
tenth counties are all located in the southeastern 
part of the state, practically contiguous to each 
other, while the third county is in the central part 
of the state, the fifth is in the northeast-central por- 
tion, and the ninth is in the northwest corner. The 
first 10 counties in Iowa contributed only 33.8 per- 
cent of the registrations from the state. Another 
fact which shows how much more widely Percherons 
are scattered in Iowa than in Illinois is that they 
were recorded from 98 out of the 99 counties in 
Iowa during the year, but from only 81 out of the 
102 counties in Illinois. The 10 leading Iowa coun^ 
ties, with the number of registrations, are as follows : 
Henry, 97; Keokuk, 75; Story, 66; Jefferson, 63; 
Black Hawk, 63 ; Van Buren, 55 ; Johnson, 54 ; Page, 
46 ; Cherokee, 43, and Lee, 37. 

In Ohio the 10 leading Percheron-producing coun- 
ties, with the number of registrations from each dur- 





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488 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

ing the year are as follows : Delaware, 81 ; Wayne, 
42 ; Hardin, 31 ; Allen, 30 ; Madison, 28 ; Miami, 26 ; 
Morrow, 26 ; Marion, 23 ; Van Wert, 19, and Williams 
County, 17. The first, fifth, seventh and eighth coun- 
ties are practically in one body in the central part of 
the state, but the others are scattered from the north- 
eastern to the western part, without any particular 
concentration of breeding in any one district. Dela- 
ware is far in the lead of all other counties in Ohio 
in the number of Percherons raised, but Percheron 
breeding is by no means so general as in Iowa, as 
registrations were made from only 75 of the 88 coun- 
ties in the state. 

The Percheron-breeding districts in the other lead- 
ing states are clearly shown by the maps accompany- 
ing this analysis. The significant fact is that Per- 
cheron breeding has expanded most rapidly in those 
communities where the breed has been longest known 
— eloquent testimony to the wearing qualities of the 
breed. The endurance, adaptability and money- 
making qualities of the Percheron have won it life- 
long friends wherever farmers have had an oppor- 
tunity to become acquainted with the sterling worth 
of the world's most popular draft breed. 

Percherons in the South. — Touching the matter of 
the adaptibility of the Percheron to the conditions 
prevailing in the Southern States we have asked for 
expressions of opinion, based on observation and 
experience, from two well-known animal husband- 
men connected respectively with the Texas and 
Georgia agricultural colleges. 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 489 

The evidence of Prof. John C Burns of College 
Station, Tex., is as follows : 

''The Percheron is decidedly the most popular 
draft breed in the south, though it still lacks much of 
being so popular as horses of the light type. A large 
majority of southern farmers have long practiced a 
system of farming, cotton raising, which peraiits of 
the use of light-weight teams, both horses and mules, 
to good advantage. This accounts largely for the 
preference that is given to horses of the light type. 
Of course, prejudice , also has played an important 
part in keeping down the popularity of draft horses, 
the general belief being that they can not withstand 
the hot climate. 

''I have had an opportunity to observe the Perche- 
ron under many different conditions in Texas. I have 
seen registered stallions at the head of bands of 
range mares ; stallions restricted to the stall and pad- 
dock, that were being offered for public service ; reg- 
istered mares with foals at side; weanling, year- 
lings, and two-year-olds in the process of develop- 
ment on the farm; and mares and geldings at work in 
the field and on the road. Wherever these animals 
were being given the care and attention to be expect- 
ed from any good horseman, they were thriving and 
proving satisfactory. The fact that the period of 
hot weather in the south is long and the heat often 
severe makes it even more important here than in 
the north that Percheron mares and geldings be 
worked by intelligent teamsters who are good care- 
takers. From the middle of September until the 
middle of May, as a rule, no better teams could be 
desired, and during this period they easily excel 
teams of light horses and light mules in much of 
the work of the farm. But during the remaining 
four months of hot weather extreme care must be 



490 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

exercised to prevent tliem from becoming over- 
heated. Nevertheless, one finds the general health 
of Percherons in the south equally as good as that 
of light horses. 

''More Percheron horses are needed in the south, 
and there are two important reasons why they are 
needed: 

"First, diversified farming is rapidly gaining 
headway. More feed crops are being raised. Such 
a system of farming calls into use heavier farm im- 
plements and machinery, the handling of which re- 
requires heavier teams. 

''Second, the south has long given much attention 
to the raising of mules, animals that have proved so 
well adapted to the work on southern farms. The 
great majority of the mules, however, are the prod- 
ucts of light mares and are therefore themselves 
generally small and of the class known as cotton 
mules. Even in the past there has rarely been a 
time when large, smooth-turned mules were not in 
demand at good prices, while light mules have often 
been a drug on the market. The changing to diversi- 
fied farming is making the heavy mule more neces- 
sary and more in demand than ever and in the 
production of such mules Percheron blood must play 
an important part. By the use of good Percheron 
stallions excellent mule foundations can be obtained 
by grading up from native or Spanish mares and 
from mares of Saddle, Thoroughbred and Standard- 
bred breeding. More mares that possess size and 
draft conformation must be used, if large, high- 
priced mules, capable of doing the heavy work of 
the farm, are to be produced. 

"Feeding Percheron horses in the south does not 
differ greatly from feeding them in other sections 
of the country. Oats here, as elsewhere, is one of the 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 491 

best feeds that can be used. Combined with a little 
wheat bran oats is especially desirable for feeding 
during hot weather. During the winter corn may 
be used extensively, especialy for mature work ani- 
mals. Kaiir, milo, and feterita make excellent feeds, 
but, like corn, they serve best in the ration during 
the cold months. Almost any of the good, clean, 
well-cured grass hays, such as Bermuda, Johnson 
grass, Sudan grass, sorghum, or prairie hay serves 
well as roughage. Legume hay, especially alfalfa, 
is also often fed as a part of the roughage with good 
results. 

"The South needs more Percheron horses. But 
here let it be said that a kind vastly different from 
the majority that has been sold here is needed. The 
southern states have been a dumping ground for 
inferior, unsound stallions that have been driven 
from the northern states as a result of the opera- 
tion in those states of stallion license laws. The 
farmers of the southern states must awake to this 
fact, exercise better judgment in purchasing stal- 
lions, and, if necessary, have laws enacted for their 
protection. A few inferior, unsound stallions can do 
more damage in a short time to the progress of the 
breed than several good stallions can overcome in 
many years. Percheron horses that are typical of 
the breed are sound and of good conformation, qual- 
ity, style, and action. Such horses will pave the way 
for the breed 's more rapid progress and greater 
popularity in the south as nothing else will." 

Prof. Milton P. Jarnagin of the Georgia State Col- 
lege of Agriculture says: 

"In 1906 we began shipping grade Percheron mares 
from the middle west to Tennessee. Up to that time 
there had been strenuous objection in the south to 
any of the draft breeds, and the first mares which 



4:92 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

we shipped carried but a small infusion of draft 
blood. It was soon observed that these mares of 
more weight gave a better account of themselves as 
farm workers than the lighter mares had done. Even 
after the first shipment it was evident that farmers 
were willing to pay more money for the heavier ones 
than for medium-weight mares. In 1910 we shipped 
in a carload of high grade Percheron mares. These 
sold well and developed into valuable breeding and 
work mares. In 1911 I purchased 6 registered 
mares in central Illinois. They have been regular 
breeders and good farm workers in Tennessee. Since 
1911 we have been carrying grade and purebred 
Percheron mares on the farm of the Georgia State 
College of Agriculture. These mares have also done 
satisfactory work and have proved regular breeders. 
We have demonstrated conclusively that with rea- 
sonable supervision the negro will make a satis- 
factory teamster with grade or purebred mares, 

' ' During six weeks of the hottest summer months 
the mules are able to do but little more work 
than the mares. We work our mares regularly 
through the entire season, but during the hottest 
weather they are given the lightest work and the 
mules the heaviest work. For the other ten and 
a half months of the year our mares do more work 
than the mules do. 

''I feel positive that we will work mules in the 
cottonbelt permanently. However, there is a strong, 
growing demand for homeraised mules, and even the 
most skeptical farmer is willing to admit that the 
Percheron stallion is the best 'grand-daddy' a mule 
ever had. In other words, there is a broadening de- 
mand for Percheron stallions to sire mule mares. 
The user of mules knows that the massive, full-made, 
strong-boned mule is more durable and more salable 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 493 

than the over-refined mule with, a Thoroughbred or 
trottingbred dam. Regardless of whether the dam 
ultimately is used to produce horses or mule mares, 
he is clamoring for brood mares showing a strong 
infusion of draft blood. 

' ' The complaints that have been raised against the 
Percheron from the southern territory have been 
made as a result of inferior counterfeits being 
dumped into the southern states. Quality, finish and 
courage should be dominant features in all Perch- 
eron horses sent to the south. Wherever animals 
filling these requirements have gone they have made 
friends for this great breed of horses. ' ' 

Horse Stock of the United States. — The estimates 
of the Department of AgTiculture for Jan. 1, 1917, 
show 21,126,000 horses on farms in the United States, 
with an average valuation of $102.94, or a total val- 
uation of $2,174,629,000, and 4,639,000 mules with 
an average valuation of $118.32, or a total valuation 
of $548,864,000. 

The 1910 census, taken June 1, 1910, gives a 
total of 1,731,982 colts foaled in 1909, or, as we would 
class them, yearlings. While the estimates of the 
Department of Agriculture indicate that there has 
been some falling off in the production of horses 
within the past 6 years, it seems safe to assume that 
we are producing at least 1,500,000 foals annually 
which come to at least one year of age. The 1910 
census also shows that of the total number of farms 
in the United States only 16.1 percent reported 
yearlings, from which we may safely conclude that 
only 16 percent of the farmers in the United States 
are producing horses. 



494 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Of the yearlings on farms in 1910, 21.5 percent 
were in the east-north-central section, 38.4 percent 
in the west-north-central and 11.1 percent in the 
west-south-central. That is to say, a fraction more 
than 70 percent of the yearlings reported by the 
census of 1910, which is unquestionably the most 
accurate source of data we have, were in these 
three sections. The states comprising the east- 
north-central section are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan and Wisconsin. Those in the west-north- 
central are Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Da- 
kota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, and in 
the west-south-central Arkansas, Louisiana, Okla- 
homa and Texas. 

Percherons the Leading Draft Type. — The most 
reliable estimates which we have been able to ob- 
tain indicate that there are probably about 150,000 
purebred drafters in this country at this date. This 
figure includes all ages. Of this total it is estimated 
that approximately 90,000 are Percherons. In other 
words, our most reliable sources of information 
indicate that nearly two-thirds of the purebred draft 
horses in America are Percherons. 

The last analysis made of the stallion enrollment 
boards' reports in the 10 leading horse producing 
states shows that 64 percent of the total number 
of purebred draft stallions are Percherons. The 
figures from other states which have since made 
reports on stallions in service, particularly Kansas 
and Indiana, increase the total percentage of Perch- 
eron sires, so that it is safe to say that at least 66 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 495 

percent of all purebred draft stallions in use in the 
United States are Percherons. 

War Exports. — Our exports since tlie great Euro- 
pean war began aggregated for the 27 months end- 
ing Dec. 1st, 1916, 774,947 horses and 255,014 mules, 
totalling in value $216,941,912. The strongest de- 
mand has been for artillery and transport horses, 
which have brought from $35 to $60 per head more 
than cavalry horses. Men who have been in particu- 
larly close touch with the work of the inspectors 
declare that at least 75 percent of the artillery and 
transport horses have been grade Percherons. How 
well these horses have met the foreign demand is 
attested in the leading editorial of the London 
''Live Stock Journal" for Nov. 17, 1916, from which 
we quote: 

''In the meantime the Percheron type has made 
many friends in England. The breed, mostly rep- 
resented, it is true, by ' grade ' horses as yet, is firmly 
established in the hearts and minds of the responsi- 
ble officers of the British army. Go where one will 
in army circles, he hears nothing but praise for a 
horse that has proved his sterling worth in artil- 
lery. East and west, north and south the story is 
the same; the half-bred Percheron has filled many 
wants and has proved himself a gentleman of a 
horse, as well as a willing and never failing worker. 
"We shall have a further opportunity of stating how 
pleased army men are with the type, but for the 
moment our chief concern lies in stating the facts 
of the case in connection with the recent importa- 
tion of two purebred Percheron stallions and some 
brood mares. 



496 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

"It is the intention of their owners to use these 
horses in producing reliable artillery horses from 
Shire and Clydesdale mares, but they will also breed 
true to type, using the several Percheron mares 
accompanying the stallions, and so lay the founda- 
tion for an English Percheron Stud Book. Let it 
be added that this desire to try out the Percheron 
in England is not an idle whim or passing fancy. 
It is a thorough determination, brought about as 
the result of sincere conviction on the part of army 
authorities that the half-bred Percheron fills the 
bill best of the many types bought for ns the world 
over since the outbreak of the war." 

One point clearly brought out by the developments 
of the trade in the past 2 years is that the United 
States is the only nation with a surplus of horses 
ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds or over in weight. 
Attempts to purchase such horses in Canada have 
been made at different times since the war began, 
but the proportion of horses obtained was so slight 
in comparison with the total number examined and 
the cost of inspecting and purchasing them was 
so great that practically all purchases have been 
made in the United States, so far as North Amer- 
ica is concerned. In South America the Argentine 
appears to have been the only country which has 
exported any considerable number of horses. About 
150,000 head in all have probably been exported 
from Buenos Aires since the war began. The cav- 
alry horses bought there have brought about $90 
in our money, and the best artillery horses from $125 
to $130. Inasmuch as the cavalry horses bought in 
this country have brought from $125 to $150 and 




. Arthur CoJeorove J ^ L Lewis Slack . 



' DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 497 

the artillery horses from $165 to $210, it is manifest 
that the Argentine has not been favorably consid- 
ered as a source of horses for foreign use. One 
reason is found in the long shipment and another in 
the fact that they have but a very small proportion 
of horses large enough for artillery work. 

French Embarg'o on Exports. — Practically no im- 
portations of Percherons have been made since the 
European war began. A few horses bought before 
the war broke out were brought over in the autumn 
of 1914, but these were not Percherons. From that 
time until Jan. 1, 1917, no more Percherons were 
imported, except 59 brought over in the spring of 

1916. Almost immediately after the war began the 
French Government placed an absolute embargo on 
the exportation of horses to foreign countries. This 
embargo was not lifted until Jan. 1, 1916, when 
through the strenuous efforts of Charles Aveline, 
then President of the Percheron Society of France, 
the government did agree to release for export 200 
Percheron stallions rising four years old or over. 
This suspension of the embargo lasted from Jan. 1 
to March 1, 1916, and but 59 horses were brought 
out under this release order. Another order of sim- 
ilar character released 200 more stallions for export 
during December, 1916, and January and February, 

1917, but these horses were required to be coming 
four years old or over. 

American Breeding Stimulated. — The elimination 
of imports has greatly stimulated Percheron breed- 
ing in this country. Importers and dealers have 



498 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

been forced to purchase their stock here. They 
have scoured the country for good colts of both 
sexes and have paid higher prices than ever before. 
This has encouraged our breeders to spend more time 
and money in breeding good mares to better sires. 
This demand has also caused growers to feed their 
colts more liberally, with results which were ex- 
hibited in most convincing form at the 1916 Inter- 
national Live Stock Exposition, 

During the twelvemonth ended Oct, 30, 1915, reg- 
istrations were made by the Percheron Society of 
America as follows: 

American-bred stallions, 3,795; American-bred 
mares, 4,542; total American-breds, 8,337, 

Imported stallions, 107; imported mares, 48; total 
imported Percherons, 155. Grand total, 8,492. 

During the fiscal year ended Oct. 30, 1916, reg- 
istrations were as follows: 

American-bred stallions, 4,043; American-bred 
mares, 4,861; total American-breds, 8,904. 

Imported stallions, 123; imported mares, 17; total 
imported Percherons, 140. 

Almost all of the registrations under the head of 
"imported" for 1915 were of animals imported 
prior to the beginning of the war, and of the 140 
imported animals recorded during the fiscal year 
of 1916 all but 59 were imported prior to the war. 

The most decisive testimony regarding the effect 
of the war in stimulating Percheron breeding comes 
from the small farmer-breeders scattered throughout 
this country. They testify without exception that 



ABMOXJU'S PERCHEKiLN i;j:i,Lil.M. .\L\CK— TAKEN Al'll.R ^INE YEABiS 
OF STEADY SERVICE 




THE FAJIOUS PEECHERON GMiDING BIG JIM. 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 499 

they have had a better demand for their surplus 
stallions and that they have sold them at earlier 
ages and at better prices than at any time in the 
last 20 years. 

Commercial Market for Draft Horses. — Ellsworth 
& McNair are known throughout the United States 
and abroad as extensive handlers of horses of all 
kinds, including many draft horses. Harry McNair, 
of this firm, is probably as well versed in the com- 
mercial demand for draft horses as any man in 
the world. What he has to say on this subject is of 
particular interest. His statement follows: 

"The point of orgin of most of the draft horses 
used in the United States is in the west, particu- 
larly in the states of Iowa and Illinois. The best 
market for the surplus draft horses is very largely 
in our eastern states, particularly Pennsylvania, 
New York and New England. It is true that many 
horses are used in the cities, towns and villages of 
the middle west and that large numbers of draft 
horses are sold into the northern woods for logging 
purposes, but the chief market for high-class draft 
horses is, and always has been, in the eastern part 
of the United States. The reason for this is not 
difficult to find when we consider that more than 
23,000,000 people live in Pennsylvania, New York 
and New England and that the total valuation of 
the horses used in the cities, towns and villages of 
that section amounts to more than $135,000,000. 

The eastern section is densely populated and 
given up largely to manufacturing and commerce, 
necessitating unusual requirements in the way of 
transportation. The number of horses produced on 
the farms of the east is very small. The census 
of 1910 shows that in that year yearlings were found 



500 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

on farms in the east to but a limited extent. The 
percentages of the total number of eastern farms on; 
which yearling colts were found follows: Connecti- 
cut, 2 percent; Maine, 5.4; New Hampshire, 3.4; 
Rhode Island, 1.3; Vermont, 9; Massachusetts, 1.9; 
New York, 9.5, and Pennsylvania, 11.1. It is true that 
horses may have been produced on some farms that 
did not report yearlings in 1910, but the percentage 
of yearlings available in any year is a fairly accu- 
rate index to horse production in any particular 
district. The farms in the east are not producing 
as many horses as they need in their actual farm 
work, to say nothing of surplus fit and available for 
city use. The thousands upon thousands of draft 
horses annually shipped from western farms to the 
eastern states are used for all kinds of transporta- 
tion purposes where strength and weig'ht is needed. 
Ice companies, coal companies, transfer companies, 
manufacturing establishments, department stores, 
wholesale houses, warehouses and mills are all ex- 
tensive users of draft horses, and the farms of New 
England also take large numbers of draft horses 
every spring for use in agricultural work. The lum- 
ber interests in this territory are also extensive and 
require large numbers of horses to go into the woods 
each fall. There are more than 100 dealers or firms 
located in the states mentioned which make a busi- 
ness of handling heavy draft horses for the eastern 
trade. 

"From all that I have been able to learn, the 
demand for heavy draft horses between July 1, 1916, 
and Nov. 15, 1916 was probably as good as it has 
been at any time within the past 20 years. I feel 
satisfied that the prices which the dealers in the east 
obtained from the ultimate consumers were as high 
as at any time since 1900, if not higher. 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 501 

"One tiling which farmers generally do not fully 
understand and which they should at all times keep 
in mind is that the trade for draft horses is a sea- 
sonable one. Heavy draft horses are in demand 
mainly during the spring and fall months. During 
the winter there is little call for them and there 
is not much trading during June. The reasons 
underlying this seasonable condition in the trade 
are related to the demands of commerce. During 
April and May ice companies are buying heavily 
for their summer requirements and a great many 
commercial concerns which do a much heavier busi- 
ness in the summer than they do in the winter, such 
as city lumber companies, building concerns, con- 
tractors for excavations, and the like, are all in the 
market for draft horses during the latter part of 
March and April and the early part of May. The 
demand naturally falls off during June as parties 
needing these drafters have obtained them and the 
only horses bought are occasional animals to fill un- 
foreseen emergencies. In the latter part of July, 
August and during September the large coal com- 
panies are on the market purchasing horses for de- 
livery of coal during the fall and winter months; the 
logging companies are also in the market for heavy 
draft horses and some additional purchases are 
always made in the fall on account of an extra call 
for horses on contract work. These basic factors 
underlie the trade for draft horses, which is natur- 
ally strongest during the spring months and next 
best during the early fall months. There is no par- 
ticular demand for the heavy draft horses during 
January and February; the men who need them have 
already obtained them, and such purchases as are 
made are emergency ones to fill out teams or take 
care of unforeseen work. I am satisfied that if 



502 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

farmers generally would bear in mind the fact that 
the trade in draft geldings is a seasonable one, they 
could obtain much more for their horses than they 
have generally secured, by having the horses fit for 
sale at these particular times. 

''Another feature which is worthy of mention is 
that the eastern buyers have been willing to pay 
higher prices and for this reason have obtained the 
better class of draft geldings. The majority of 
Chicago and other western buyers, when they do 
want big horses, are willing to take second-class 
ones which can be obtained somewhat cheaper, but 
the eastern buyers are inclined to take the best 
horses they can get even at higher prices. I know 
of many teams that have been sold in New 
York, Brooklyn and Boston at prices ranging from 
$800 to $900 per team. 

' ' The number of draft horses passing through our 
large commercial markets during the past 2 years 
has not been at all representative of the actual de- 
mand or sales. The reason for this is that the com- 
mercial markets have been given up largely to the 
export trade, which has been almost exclusively for 
cavalry, artillery and transport horses. It is likely 
that the draft horses would have continued to move 
freely through the large markets had it not been for 
the very extensive movement in war horses. 

''By reason of this the eastern buyers of heavy 
draft horses have within the last 18 months been 
avoiding the large market and going directly to 
the country, making their purchases from farmers 
or small dealers who have assembled and fed their 
horses for the eastern markets. 

"I am no prophet and will not undertake to make 
any predictions as to what will occur in the com- 
mercial horse market when the war ends. I believe, 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 503 

however, that exports will continue for a consider- 
able period, although probably not on the same ex- 
tensive scale. I am of the opinion, however, that we 
probably shall ship a somewhat better class of horses 
to foreign nations after the war; it is likely that 
they will seek the draftier type of mares weighing 
from 1,400 to 1,700 pounds and with evidence 
of draft breeding. Whether exports continue or 
not, however, the demand for draft horses in the 
United States will continue. In spite of the exten- 
sive use of auto-trucks, which has unquestionably 
curtailed the demand for heavy draft horses very 
materially, especially in Chicago, the need for horses 
in our city transportation will continue. The ex- 
perience of thousands of users has satisfied them 
that on short hauls and in construction work as it 
is generally conducted horses are more economical 
than auto trucks. 

"I am satisfied that the only type of horse which 
it will really pay the farmer to raise in the future 
is the draft horse, and the better the horse the 
more profit will accrue to the farmer. Draft horses 
are more efficient in farm work than any others; 
they do more work, and do it more thoroughly and 
more cheaply. Where draft mares are kept for the 
farm work, as they can be wherever the farmer 
is a good manager and an intelligent horseman, the 
revenue accruing from the sale of the colts con- 
stitutes an annual income of no slight importance. 
If all the mares now in the United States which 
range in weight from 1,100 to 1,500 pounds could 
be bred to first-class draft stallions, and their 
daughters in turn bred to the best draft stallions, 
and the grand-daughters likewise, the value of the 
progeny in the United States would be increased at 
least $50 per head, whether we consider that value 



504 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

in draft liorses from the standpoint of efficiency 
in farm work or from the standpoint of their actual 
worth to users in our large cities or in foreign coun- 
tries. There is every encouragement to produce 
the big horses of approved draft type, conformation 
and quality, which will weigh 1,650 pounds and up 
in good working condition. I can see no encour- 
agement for the man who is producing the cheap 
or undersized liorses. I fully believe that the prices 
on these smaller horses will drop materially after 
the war. 

''So far as I can judge, the average price which 
fanners in the United States have received for 
cavalry horses has been in the neighborhood of $115 
per head. The average price for the French artil- 
lery horse has been around $140, and for the British 
artillery horse around $165 to the farmers who sold 
such horses. There is here a difference of from 
$25 to $50 per head in favor of the heavier horse 
and this increase in weight has in all instances 
been due to the use of draft blood. During this 
very time, however, when the heavy artillery horses 
were selling from our farms at an average of $165 
per head, horses with one more cross of draft blood, 
which would weigh from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds in 
working condition have been bringing from $225 to 
$250 on the farms, and the horses with still more 
size and draft character have brought from $250 
to $275 on the farms. I cannot see how there can 
be any clearer evidence of the advantage of produc- 
ing draft horses on the farm, or of using purebred 
draft stallions in increasing the value of the com- 
mon horses of our country." 

Gelding's at the Show. — Tremendous impetus has 
been given the breeding of better geldings by the 
exhibits made at the International Live Stock Ex- 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OP PRODUCTION 505 

positions by the great packing companies, breweries 
and other exhibitors. Without attempting to give 
a detailed list of the winnings, it is worth while to 
call attention to the fact that the Armour gelding 
Jim, admitted by experienced judges to have been 
the greatest gelding ever exhibited in America, won 
first and championship in the heavy gelding classes 
in 1903, 1905, 1906 and 1907. He has been the 
only gelding to achieve such an extraordinary rec- 
ord in the history of the entire show. 

All the geldings exhibited by Armour & Co. have 
been grade Percherons. They won the heavy four- 
in-hand class in 1904, 1905 and 1906, the class for 
heavy geldings in the treys abreast in 1904, 1905 
and 1906, and the class for the sixes in 1905 and 1906. 
The high estimate placed on the Armour geldings 
is abundantly attested by the frank admission 
of Thomas B. Freshney, a breeder of Shires in 
England, who freely acknowledged in 1905 that 
they could turn out no such six-horse team in Eng- 
land, taking size, draftiness, weight and dashing 
action into consideration. At the International in 
1907 Mr. Sparks of London, who at that time owned 
the best pair of Shires in England, stated that all 
prejudices aside he had never seen a gelding quite 
so good as Armour's Jim. In 1906 Big Jim de- 
feated Tom, a brown gelding sent over by King 
Edward VII of England to uphold the honor of the 
Shires at the International, and in 1907 he defeated 
Drew, a horse that under the name of King Harry 
was the champion gelding of Scotland in his day 



506 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and was imported by Clydesdale enthusiasts to up- 
hold their colors at the International, 

The Percheron standard also has been ably upheld 
during the various shows by the exhibits sent for- 
ward by Smft & Co., Schwarzschild & Sulzberger, 
and the Pabst Brewing Co. Exhibits by all these 
companies were well to the front in the various 
shows, and the Pabst six-horse team won the high- 
est honors in 1904. In more recent years J. Crouch 
& Son have been well represented in all classes for 
geldings, winning the championship for single geld- 
ing in 1910 on Prince, the trey hitch in 1910 and 

1911, and the blue ribbon on the six-horse team in 

1912. It is worthy of note that while other breeds 
have put forward the best purebred geldings that 
they could find in this country or abroad, the Per- 
cheron honors have in all cases been won on grade 
Percheron geldings bred in the United States and 
bought on the open market as work geldings. 

The Armour six-horse team, champion at the In- 
ternational in 1906, was sent to Great Britain and 
exhibited at the Olympic Horse Show in 1907. The 
team subsequently toured Great Britain and created 
a sensation that has probably never been equalled 
in the tight little isle. 

The wonderful enduring qualities of the Per- 
cheron also are attested by the fact that a large 
proportion of the geldings which won the highest 
honors in these shows continued in steady service 
until well up in years. An especially notable in- 
stance of this is found in the gelding Mack, pur- 



DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION 507 

chased as a six-year-old in the spring of 1905, by 
Tom Donnellan, superintendant of stables for Ar- 
mour & Co. He was the off horse in the lead team 
in the famous Armour six, and was a member of the 
trey team that won first for Armour in 1906 and 1907 ; 
in 1914, when fifteen years of age and after 9 years 
of hard service on the city streets, he was selected as 
a high-class representative of what is desired in 
good Percheron geldings and used for demonstra- 
tion purposes on an extension train in Wisconsin 
during that year and the following one. In spite of 
his age and long service and the fact that he had 
not missed a single day's work during the preced- 
ing 9 years, Mack weighed more than 1,800 pounds 
in ordinary working condition and was absolutely 
sound and right. This horse and others shown in 
the famous Percheron teams exemplified in their con- 
formation, set of legs, well-shaped, durable feet, 
clean joints, clean-cut quality and their long years 
of service the characteristics which have made Per- 
cheron geldings popular with great Packingtown 
firms and with the cartage companies of the large 
cities, where endurance is estimated at its true 
value. 

Percheron geldings won first and championship in 
the single gelding class 7 times out of a possible 14; 
won the blue ribbon on pairs under 3,500 pounds 9 
times out of a possible 13; won on heavy geldings 
three abreast 7 times out of a possible 14; won on 
the light four-in-hand 7 times out of a possible 9, 
and won the heavy gelding six-in-hand 6 times out 



508 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of a possible 14, to say nothing of the innumerable 
seconds and thirds. Of this record the breed has 
reason to be proud, in view of the fact that it has 
in all instances been represented by grade Percheron 
geldings bought on the open market as work horses, 
while adherents of other breeds have scoured two 
continents and selected the best purebred geld- 
ings that could be obtained to uphold their colors. 




PEBCHERON MAKES AT DELCHESTER FARMS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
SELECTION, CAEE AND MANAGEMENT. 

Under this head we have the pleasure of submit- 
ting the views of a number of recognized authorities 
in the trade. The authors believe that these state- 
ments will prove interesting and instructive, more 
especially to those who may be engaging in the busi- 
ness of breeding Percherons for the first time. 

Edmond Perriot. — Speaking of types of Perche- 
rons as regarded in France and by American buyers, 
this veteran "stallioner" of the Perche says: 

"The Percheron types that we as breeders are 
interested in today may be divided into three 
classes — the type sought by Americans, the one 
bought by the government haras, and the type which 
the breeders in the Perche love to see. Regarding 
the last type, what we look for is a great deal of 
character and reproductive ability as shown in the 
head and neck and eye. We forgive some things 
that the American buyer would never overlook, but 
we demand that a good breeding stallion should have 
an expressive physiognomy. We like to see in a 
stallion a well-crested, swan-curved neck, a clean 
throatlatch, a well-poised head with small, fine ears 
— an intelligent head above all, with a large prom- 
inent eye, full of brilliance and fire. The eye we 
regard as of very great importance. I have never 
yet seen a good reproductive sire that had a com- 
mon eye. 

509 



510 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

' ' The type that the government wants is a snugly- 
built, compact stallion, with a rather short, level 
back and moderately high withers, and showing a 
pleasing symmetry of form, with a good length of 
neck, sloping shoulders and rather small, neat and 
clean head. But perhaps the most important point 
for them is the action. The legs must be clean and 
not show too much bone, while a general lightness 
of foot is desired, with moderately high knee and 
hock action. To put it plainly, the government haras 
are always looking towards the problem of supplying 
the army with good cavalry and artillery horses, 
and the most of the stallions bought by them are 
used on French Coach mares of different types. 

''The American likes a big-framed, heavy, drafty 
type, even if the head and neck are not quite ideal. 
He is looking above all for strong underpinning, and 
will not forgive a hock that is not perfectly straight 
and clean. He also likes a good length of pastern 
and pays considerable attention to action." 

James M. Fletcher. — The views of one so long asso- 
ciated with Oaklawn 's breeding and importing oper- 
ations are surely worth printing: 

"In my opinion, a typical Percheron stallion 
should weigh between 1,900 and 2,100 pounds in 
good condition. His height will range from I6V2 
to 17^4 hands. In selecting a stallion I look for an 
intelligent head broad between the eyes and carry- 
ing well-set ears, a well-cut neck set on sloping 
shoulders, and a short back, with the tail set neither 
too high nor too low. He should have a broad breast 
with a muscular forearm, broad quarters, a deep 
body with well-sprung rib, legs squarely set with 
clean bone, sloping pastern not too long, and a wide, 
deep foot. Avoid a stallion narrow between the eyes, 
ugly-headed, with ears set too wide, narrow in front 



SELECTION, CAKE AND MANAGEMENT 511 

or behind, sliort-ribbecl, or with a crooked or puffy 
hind leg, a straight pastern, or a flat foot. 

^'A stallion should be housed in a large, roomy, 
well-ventilated boxstall, and given plenty of exer- 
cise, either in a well-enclosed yard or under saddle 
on the road every day. Plenty of fresh water, clean, 
fresh hay and sweet, clean oats and bran in sufficient 
quantities during breeding season to keep the horse 
in good condition are essential in my plan of feeding 
stallions. I avoid com in any form as a feed, as 
well as dirty or musty hay or oats. A moderate 
amount of green feed is beneficial. A good stallioner 
will not permit his charge to become too fat or too 
thin, and will be sure that he does not lack exercise. 
A clean, well-cared-for stable with good ventilation 
is necessary, and there should be sufficient grooming 
to keep his coat in a clean, healthy condition. 

''In selecting a brood mare I should choose one 
from a producing family, weighing 1,700 to 2,100 
pounds and standing 16 to IIVa hands high. She 
should be sound and of feminine type. The mare 
should have a fine head with eyes well apart and 
well-set ears not too heavy, a slim, graceful neck 
well set on sloping shoulders, a large, roomy barrel, 
a well-sprung rib, a tail not too low, clean, sound, 
well-placed legs not inclined to be meaty or to carry 
too much hair, sloping pasterns and deep, tough 
hoof. The mare to be avoided is the one of mascu- 
line type or from a family of shy producers. They 
are rarely successful. A coarse, Roman head, heavy, 
poorly-set ears, a masculine neck, a tail set too low, 
a short rib, a crooked, puffy hind leg, a straight 
pastern and a foot that is too narrow or too flat 
are also very undesirable features. 

'•'Brood mares not in the harness should be kept 
in pasture as much as possible at all seasons of the 



512 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

year. The expectant mother should be given a well- 
ventilated, roomy boxstall and permitted to run out 
as much as possible. Feed clean, fresh hay, ground 
oats and bran, and such green feed as the season 
affords. Mares should be kept in healthy condition, 
neither too fat nor too thin. As foaling time ap- 
proaches a night watch should be kept. During the 
period of suckling the mare must be fed well on 
milk-producing feeds, such as dampened ground oats 
or bran. Keep in the pasture as much as possible. 

''The stallion colts should be thoroughly halter- 
broken at or before weaning time. After taking the 
colt from its mother, he should be placed in roomy, 
well-ventilated pens or boxstalls that adjoin clean, 
well-drained yards or pastures, where he may have 
plenty of exercise. These yards or pastures should 
be fenced, either with boards or closely-woven heavy 
wire of such weight as to discourage any disposition 
to get out. They should be located also on dry, 
well-drained ground. The stable should be kept 
clean. The colt must have sufficient feed to keep 
him in a healthy and growing condition, but not 
too fat. It is a mistake to permit colts to go back 
after weaning time through lack of feed. A colt 
stunted at this time will never recover his lost 
ground. 

"I believe a ration of ground oats and bran with 
plenty of sweet hay the best for colts. After the 
first winter place them in well-fenced pastures with 
ample shed protection from bad weather. Do not 
locate this pasture adjacent to one in which mares 
are kept. Have plenty of fresh water always acces- 
sible and feed enough grain to keep the youngsters 
in a healthy growing condition. 

''I should handle my colts in this manner, with 
proper winter protection, until they are 2^2 years 



■%. 




OASTTULE 78956 (6455:^,)— CHAMPION CHICAGO IXTERXATKiXAL, 1911. 




JOIE :05878 (83942)— CHAMPION PAJSTAMA-PACIFIO EXPOSITION, 1915. 



SELECTION, CAEE AND MANAGEMENT 513 

old, and then place them in roomy boxstalls and 
feed them for market. Stallion colts kept in con- 
finement and highly fed easily become blemished. 
Through lack of exercise they do not develop proper 
bone and muscle, and rarely reach their full size. 
They also are inclined to bad dispositions." 

W. E. Prichard. — This from one of the veterans 
of the trade in the middle west: 

"Forty-seven years of experience and observation 
have convinced me that the most serviceable Perche- 
ron stallion should stand from 16.2 to 17.1 hands 
high and weigh from 1,800 to 2,000 pounds in thrifty 
breeding condition. Some 200 pounds or more fat 
could be added to this weight, but it is to the injury 
of the stallion; it is usually not real horse, it is 
worthless blubber. 

"In looking over a stallion have him stand in the 
shade of a stable door. Take him by the bit with 
the left hand, look in his mouth, look in his eyes, 
look over his face ; then drop your eyes down to his 
breast and shoulders, then down to his knees, pas- 
terns and feet. See that he stands squarely on his 
feet. Then step to his left shoulder; chin him. Then 
step back about 10 feet and take in the topline and 
depth of body, specially the flank. Step behind and 
observe the width of quarters, the fullness and depth 
of the stifles. Step around to the right side and 
look him over just as on the left. Examine his 
coronets; observ^e how he stands on his pasterns, 
which should be fair in length and sloping. See 
that he has plenty of bone of good quality below 
the knee and hock, and is sound. Then let him walk 
out and return on the walk. Have him move at the 
trot out and back and see that his action is straight. 

"The stallion should be rugged and masculine, 
not feminine in appearance. He should 'have a 



514 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

strong head well poised on a good neck. His breast 
should be full, wide and deep. The body should 
measure well at the heart and be full and deep at 
the flank. The back should be strong' and short, 
well-coupled with long hips of good width. He 
should stand on good, big feet and be of kind dis- 
position. 

' ' Before settling for the stallion see his certificate 
of registration and try his wind. Buy of a respon- 
sible breeder or dealer — one who can and will treat 
you right if anything goes wrong. 

"If it is possible to give a stallion work, break 
him to harness and give him constant work about 
the farm out of season. When the breeding season 
comes he will be in condition and it will be easy 
to give him daily exercise of from 5 to 6 miles. If 
you cannot work the stallion, make a paddock, en- 
closing an acre of ground with good grass and plenty 
of water alwa^^s at hand. Build a stall for shelter 
from sun and storm so that he can go in and out at 
will. Feed oats and a little dry bran in every feed. 
If he does not eat oats readily, feed a little corn and 
good timothy hay. Handled in this manner the 
stallion should live long and be useful as a sire. 

' ' Our experience has been that the full-made, wide, 
deep-bodied mare of medium height, standing on 
rather short legs, is the most successful in the hands 
of the average breeder. Her weight in ordinary 
working condition should be from 1,600 to 1,900 
pounds. She should have plenty of bone both fore 
and aft, specially below the knee and hock. We 
like as much refinement about the head and neck 
as is consistent with the conformation. The mare 
should have a strong back well coupled to broad 
hips. Of course she should stand on sound feet and 
limbs. Be sure that she has a sweet disposition and 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 515 

is not nervous or fretful. The frotliy-dispositioned 
mare is a nuisance and should be avoided. Look 
your mare over and find a stallion that can correct 
her faults. Keep her in harness, if you can, working 
her up nearly to foaling time. 

^'We prefer to keep our mares in harness almost 
up to foaling time, working them carefully, slowly, 
and in moderation. The feed before foaling is on 
the laxative order — oats and bran, not too much 
hay. We have fed our mares some silage for some 
time before foaling and like it very much; about 12 
pounds twice a day make a reasonable feed. The 
silage must be absolutely free from mold. 

"When the mare foals, if we are present and the 
afterbirth is separated from the navel, we disinfect 
the navel at once with a good disinfecting powder 
and repeat the treatment until the cord is dried up. 
We give the mare tepid water to drink, a little at a 
time for three or four hours until her thirst is 
quenched. One should be sure that the foal sucks 
within a reasonable time. Give it a chance to nurse 
without assistance if possible. Do not be deceived 
by its nosing around the mare's udder; be sure that 
it is nursing. We always give a foal about an ounce 
of castor oil before it sucks, if we see it in time. 
This assists in regulating the bowels. The foal 
should be watched for the first three days quite 
closely to see that the bowels are working properly. 
Make sure that the mare cleans in a couple of hours 
after foaling. One can usually remove the after- 
birth by taking a round stick and wrapping the 
point of the afterbirth around it and winding it up 
and out of the mare slowly. Examine the afterbirth 
carefully to see that it is whole and complete. If 
fragments are left, infection will follow and the 
mare may be lost. Feed her moderately for a couple 



516 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of weeks, until the foal is old enough to take the 
milk freely. 

*'It goes without saying that a stallion foal should 
get a good start in life while by the side of his 
mother. He should know^ how to eat grain before 
weaning time, so that when weaned he will hardly 
miss his mother's milk. After weaning he should 
have a grass lot with feed and water always before 
him and should be halter-broken and stabled at 
night. Have oats, corn, bran and good hay, clover 
or some alfalfa, always available. We aim to have 
grain before our weanlings so that they can get it 
as they want it. 

"When spring comes our yearling stallions are 
placed in a pasture by themselves. They are fed 
grain three times a day and have good water always 
available. If the grass is not plentiful enough, we 
give hay or silage to supplement it. In other words, 
we give them plenty to eat and the freedom of the 
pasture for exercise. When winter comes again the 
yearlings are run in a 20-acre bluegrass pasture and 
fed sorghum, silage, hay and grain in a roomy barn 
where they go in and out at will. The next spring 
they are coming two-year-olds. In March and April 
they are kept off the pasture and yarded about the 
barn. Wlien grass is good in May they are turned 
on the pasture and grained three times daily. We 
had tAvelve two-year-olds running together last sea- 
son. They get exercise, sunshine and shade as they 
want it, and they grow and grow. They grow bone 
and muscle and develop as colts should, and only 
as colts can that are raised in the open. Last sum- 
mer was dry and hot and the late pastures were 
bare, but we planted some sweet-corn which ripened 
early enough to cut. With that and our silage the 
colts managed to squeeze through and those who see 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 517 

them seem to think they look very well. At one time 
our two-year-olds and yearlings were running on 
sw^eet clover up to their knees, and liked it im- 
mensely. We sowed sweet clover in oats last spring 
and it looks like a success. 

''Our two-year-olds have not been housed in a 
closed barn since the first winter, and then only at 
night. A variety of feeds is essential — oats, corn, 
bran, silage, timothy hay, sorghum, sweet clover, 
bluegrass, and alfalfa. We can raise Percherons in 
America as good and as big and as rugged, and yet 
as refined and as full of quality, as they can in 
France. To accomplish this end we must breed good 
mares to good stallions, give abundant exercise in 
the open, and feed, feed, feed." 

E. B. White. — The present President of the Per- 
cheron Society of America expresses his judgment 
as follows: 

' ' The main things to seek in the Percheron stallion 
are bone of good quality and quantity, good feet and 
correctly-set legs, specially the pasterns, a good back, 
plenty of depth in hoof, a good middle, and straight 
and free action at both walk and trot. Of course 
the horse should be sound and clean. He should 
show quality, but not be coachy. The size of a draft 
horse's head should be in proportion to his body 
and show quality. The eyes should be prominent 
and the horse should appear always alert. I believe 
that alertness strongly indicates prepotency. I never 
have seen a prepotent sire that nearly always ap- 
peared dull and sleepy. He should be of medium 
size, and I would suggest that he weigh not more 
than 2,100 pounds in show condition. I believe that 
the very large ones are seldom, if ever, satisfactory in 
the stud. The things to be avoided are unsound- 
ness, especially the kind that is generally considered 



518 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

hereditary, aiiy faulty conformation that is fre- 
quently found in the breed, such as a droopy rump, 
crooked hocks, and the like. I prefer not to have 
an off-colored horse, not that the color makes the 
horse, but it indicates the possibility of the presence 
of some other blood than that of the breed and to 
that extent makes uncertain the type of colts which 
the stallion will sire. 

"I do not believe that one can afford to work a 
high-class stallion; the risk is too great. He should 
have a large boxstall opening into a paddock con- 
taining about an acre, and the door should be kept 
open day and night so that the stallion can go in 
and out at will. The fence must be secure, but at 
the same time constructed so that the horse can see 
through and ascertain what is going on. If possible, 
I like to have a knoll in the paddock, from which 
the horse can get a good look over a large part of 
the farm. He should be made happy and contented. 
The stallion should be kept in the stall a month 
before the breeding season begins, fed more heavily 
and given plenty of exercise, so that when the season 
begins he will weigh about 150 pounds less than 
in show condition and be hard. I use only oats, 
bran and timothy hay for my stallions. Other feeds 
may be as good, and they may be better, but I know 
from experience that these are both good and safe. 

''I believe that the size desired in the colt should 
be mainly derived from the mare. Therefore, I like 
a large, open, roomy mare, but she must be feminine. 
While I do not want a long back, at the same time 
I prefer it to a short, pony-built mare. She, like 
the stallion, must be sound and have good true 
action. Mares while pregnant can and should be 
worked when it is possible for the owner or his sons 
to handle them or when a reliable man is to be 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 519 

secured. When this is not possible it is best that 
the mare remain idle, but in this case she should 
be out every day unless the weather is very bad 
and she should be allowed the run of large pastures 
and not be confined to paddocks. A fair number of 
mares can be allowed to run together, but I regard 
it desirable not to have more than eight in one 
pasture. 

"About one week before foaling the mare's feed 
should be oats and bran, largely bran, so that her 
bowels may be in good condition. If one is sure 
that the foal will receive proper attention, especially 
the navel, the mare may be put to work within 
two weeks after foaling; otherwise I prefer to have 
her remain idle until the navel has healed. On my 
farm the mares carrying foals are not worked, but 
this is because of my inability to secure reliable 
labor. When they are suckling I feed my mares 
oats and bran and mixed hay, half timothy and half 
clover or alfalfa. When flies are bad the mare and 
foal have a boxstall during the day and are turned 
out at night. 

' ' The stallions and fillies should . be separated 
when not more than seven months old. This is 
before there is a possibility of any of the fillies com- 
ing in heat and causing the stallions to fret and 
worry. If a stallion is never allowed to get near 
enough to a mare, in heat to smell her, he will run 
in a pasture with a number of others nearly as con- 
tented as the same number of geldings. These 
stallions should have abundance of range. I prefer 
a field about twice as large as would be necessary 
to furnish them sufficient pasture, and I put in the 
pasture a like number of cattle. When running in 
large pastures the colts are able to take abundant 
exercise and will consume large amounts of oats 



520 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

and bran, of which they should be given all they 
will clean up nicely. 

"For pasture I prefer bluegrass on limestone land, 
with running water at hand. My colts run together 
in such a pasture until they are about twenty-seven 
months old. The flies then compel me to stable them 
during the day. I find that when they are sepa- 
rated during the day they get more rough when 
turned together at night than when allowed to re- 
main together all the time. 

"When it is not practicable for small breeders 
to malve ample arrangements for raising their colts, 
I would advise selling the stallion foals at weaning 
time. I should like to see some man in every breed- 
ing community engaged solely in the purchase and 
development of these youngsters." 

J. L. DeLaJicey.-— This from one who has helped 
to make Percheron history in the Northwest: 

"The problems for the beginner in the breeding 
of Percherons are many, nearly all of which can 
be solved easily by putting to proper use the infor- 
mation which one can obtain from experienced, con- 
structive breeders. It is, however, to be regretted 
that we do not have more constructive breeders, 
both in this country and in France, but those we 
have had and have now have done a wonderful 
work. And there is much to do in the future. It 
is unfortunate for the breed that until very recently 
the cheaper class of Percheron was more profitable 
to the importer and dealer than the better ones. 
But the time has now come when the breeder of the 
good ones meets with a just reward, not only in 
pecuniary profits, but in personal satisfaction and 
public appreciation. 

"The person who is establishing a stud of Per- 
cherons today, either on a large or small scale, should 




ON BIGHT, JIARE HEIvEN HELIX ■iTiini;, CHAMTIOX XEBKASKA STATE FAIR 
1916; ON UCET. MARE DOROTHY V.. 1224,-.5, RESERVE CHAMPION NEBBASIiA 
STATE FAIR, 1916. 




JUJEFONSE 79307 CS3004)— CHAMPION AT THE INTEBNATIONAIj 
EXPOSITION OF 1913. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 521 

use greater care in tlie selection of liis foundation 
stock, both as to their breeding and conformation, 
than ever before. The mares should be of good 
size, standing squarely on large, wide-heeled feet 
with round hoofheads, above which are pasterns of 
proper slope, strong, flat bone, flat, wide hocks and 
large, flat knees. Also they should have good ends, 
long, well-sprung ribs and level toplines. Avoid 
all undersized and very blocky mares. 

"In choosing a stallion one must remember that 
the sire is half the stud, and that his selection is 
most important. There are many experienced breed- 
ers who can tell at the first glance a stallion that 
will be more than an average breeder. The same 
stallion, on close inspection, may have faults, either 
in breeding or conformation, which would make 
him undesirable as a stud-header. But if one can 
get the strong 'personality' in a stallion which so 
attracts the man of experience, and without the 
other faults, one is almost sure to be piloting in 
safe waters for a sire. 

"The general points to seek in the selection of 
a sire are much the same as for mares. In addition 
he should be stronger and more masculine in appear- 
ance, especially in head and neck, as well as more 
upstanding. The day of the blocky Percheron stal- 
lion is past. A stallion to head a stud of registered 
mares should stand not less than 17 hands high, and 
weigh no less than 2,100 pounds in sale condition. 

"In the selection of both stallion and mares the 
breeding is very important and should be carefully 
considered. The families of Percherons which have 
made the greatest successes as sires and dams are 
well known, and one should get as much of the 
blood of these strains as possible in the foundation 
stock. 



522 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEBON HORSE 

"Brood mares should have plenty of exercise. 
Much the best plan is to work them, feeding clean, 
nourishing feed, so that when the foals come they 
may be strong and well. With proper cleanliness 
and disinfection the loss should be very small. 

"The feeding and care of the foals after weaning 
is almost as important as the selection of the sire 
and dams. ,The foals should be weaned at five 
months old, having had oats for four months 
prior to weaning time. After weaning they 
should have the run of a grass paddock, when 
flies are not bad, and be fed liberally on grain. We 
have never been in favor of over-feeding either 
stallions or colts, but there is little danger in giving 
too much grain the first year. After that feed them 
liberally, but not all that they will eat. Many good 
colts have been ruined by over-feeding. It is advi- 
sable to let from two to six stallions run together 
until two and one-half years old; then separate them. 

" It is next to impossible to over-feed a colt running 
on grass. The feed given them then will give the 
best results, but when they are taken up greater 
care should be used in the selection of feeds. And 
always give plenty of exercise. The word exercise 
should be strong in the mind of every breeder of 
Percherons. Without it one grows a small-boned, 
soft-muscled, blemished colt. And if the mature 
stallions do not get exercise and plenty of it, they 
soon become non-breeders and the colts they do sire 
will be weaklings. 

' ' The beginner in Percheron breeding, who begins 
right and then follows it with judicious care and 
feeding, will find his undertaking both interesting 
and profitable. Besides that, he is conferring a 
lasting benefit to the community in which he lives." 

J. 0. Singmaster. — Out of his long experience as 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 523 

a breeder and importer Mr. Singmaster submits 
these views: 

"In my opinion, the chief characteristics of a 
Percheron stallion are these: a head of good length 
and breadth, broad between the eyes, wide-open nos- 
trils; eyes full and rather outstanding, rather than 
deep-set or in any way out of normal; a gracefully 
curved and massive neck; broad and heavy shoul- 
ders; a deep-ribbed body; a back well developed 
from the point of the shoulder and of graceful sym- 
metry; medium-closely ribbed at the point of the 
hip; the hindquarters slightly narrower than the 
shoulders; a gently sloping and rather long hip; the 
legs to match this body — a good, straight limb, a 
flat bone of rather heavy type ; long, springy pastern 
joints; good, dark-colored hoofs of above medium 
size, and clean legs both front and rear. He should 
also have a heavy tail, docked at 9 inches for beauty 
of carriage, and still long enough to brush away 
the flies. There are other points, but these should 
assist the inexperienced purchaser in guarding his 
own interests. The stallion's weight in selling con- 
dition should be 2,100 pounds and in breeding 
condition 1,950 pounds. I prefer the dark or steel 
gray or black colors, without markings other than a 
star in the face. Plenty of bone to support the 
body is essential, but ahnormal bone is rather a 
weakness that foretells an early breakdown or rough- 
ness of limb. 

"The breeding season in our latitude should not 
be earlier than April 1. The stallion should be put 
on the road for exercise a month earlier, so as to 
harden him for producing fertile semen. We would 
not increase his feed of bright timothy hay and oats 
until he is put to breeding; then increase the amount 
fed and add small quantities of clover hay or alfalfa 



524 A HISTORY OF THE PEBCHERON HORSE 

and use bran mash as a bowel corrective. He should 
have 4 to 6 miles of exercise daily, except Sunday, 
when he should rest and not be used. If the stallion 
does not settle his mares by May 1, put him to 
work, either to a wagon or at farm work, from 2 to 
4 hours per day. The stallioner should be a kind 
man and yet have his stallion under complete con- 
trol. Never strike your horse, but guide him, control 
him. It is sometimes necessary to reduce your stal- 
lion to subjection, but never when you are in a 
passion. 

' ' Select the type of mare that suits you best. We 
prefer the rather lengthy mare of good-reaching 
neck, with a sweet, feminine head, a good pair of 
shoulders, a deep body closely ribbed to the point 
of the hip, a gently sloping hip, and flat-boned legs 
with springy pastern joints. At the throatlatch she 
should be much lighter and cleaner than the male. 
The prominent eye and the medium-sized hoof, dark- 
colored and sloping but not steep, should be sought. 
Get your mares of similar conformation, so that 
when mated with a stallion of opposite good points 
they will produce foals of distinctive conformation 
or type tliat will build your reputation as a studious 
breeder of all that is best in Percherons. Color in 
the mare is not so essential as in the male. The 
miare should weigh from 1,750 to 1,900 pounds and 
be a square walker, with no wobbly joints. Per- 
cherons are of good disposition, and it stands us in 
hand to have it so remain, but it requires care in 
mating and care in handling the colts. 

"Thirty days before the foaling date the mare 
should be fed on bran mash and clean, sweet hay, 
with a light ration of oats. Two days before foaling 
she should be placed in a thoroughly cleansed and 
disinfected boxstall, not less than 12 by 12 feet. A 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 525 

thick bedding of clean, bright straw is to be placed 
for her. If this is looked after one need use only 
a drying powder on the navel. It is the filthy con- 
dition that is usually responsible for the deaths that 
annually occur from navel disease. 

''Young foals should be allowed to eat bran and 
oats with the dam, besides the mother's milk for 
the first month. Then a smaller box should be 
placed beside the dam's feedbox, and the foal will 
soon take care of its allowance, which may be 
changed in amount according to its needs. At four 
months it should have a good ration in addition to 
the pasturage. Keep the foal growing if you want 
the best results. 

"One can expect only ordinary results unless he 
starts right, with both the sire and dam of good 
weights and breeding. To this add feeding and care 
and be repaid in the value of a well-bred and well- 
cared-for colt." 

W. S. Dunham. — The son of the founder of Oak- 
lawn, who has won for himself high place in the 
esteem of all latter-day breeders of Percherons, sup- 
plies the following summary of his views on several 
important matters: 

"In setting forth my opinions as to those things 
which are requisite in the selection of a stallion for 
breeding purposes, perhaps the best thing to do is 
to tell how I look at them when I buy them. 

"When a horse is brought out for my inspection 
I first note his general conformation and size. A 
stallion to be successful in the strtd should have good 
feet and legs and stand well on them. Nothing is 
so sure to be transmitted to the offspring as faults 
of conformation in the bony structure, such as curby 
formation of the hind leg, lack of bone, or crooked 



526 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

or badly placed hind legs. In order to suit me a 
stallion must have some quality and must be a true 
mover. If he has a powerful forearm and shoulder, 
he is almost sure to transmit these qualities to his 
offspring and to beget colts of large size. For a sire 
do not buy too small a horse, and do not buy one 
that is lacking in substance or that does not stand 
well on his legs, feet and pasterns. 

"The matured stallion when in use during the 
breeding season should have plenty of exercise and 
good feed. He should, if possible, be kept gaining 
in weight during the season. I find that the best 
way to take care of such a horse is to give him a 
yard to run in, with plenty of oats, bran and good 
hay. I do not believe that he needs artificial feeds 
or stimulants. It keeps him more tractable and 
surer if he has plenty of exercise, or even work 
when not in stud service. The stallion which one 
purchases for stud purposes of course should be 
sound. 

"Brood mares should be selected with due refer- 
ence to size and soundness. They should be of fem- 
inine type and of the largest size to be found, short 
in the back but long below, and of good substance. 
Lightness of bone is apt to reappear in the colts. 
It does not hurt the mares any, in fact it does them 
good, if they are worked, except for a short time 
preceding foaling. They should not be kept in too 
high condition. Our own mares are kept at work 
except when they are producing foals, but after 
they have their foals they are kept on first-class 
pasture and fed some grain. The foals have access 
to grain and are accustomed to eat before they are 
weaned, so that at weaning time they lose very lit- 
tle in condition. 

"For proper development it is necessary that the 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 527 

young stallions have pasture and space to run in. 
They should be well fed and kept in growing con- 
dition. The great fault of our American breeders 
is that they keep their stallion foals too much in 
the barn, w^here they cannot possibly develop the 
bone and substance which is necessary to make them 
first-class horses. Colts should run at large as much 
as possible ; the exercise, the grass and the extra 
feed they get make them grow into desirable horses. 
The importance of exercise and grass cannot be 
dwelt upon too much. It is lack of these which 
prevents so many of our American-bred colts from 
developing into the kind of horse which they 
should be." 

J. B. McLaughlin. — Few Americans know the 
Perche and its horses better than Mr. McLaughlin. 
He says: 

''Proper draft horse size is of course the prime 
requisite for the Percheron stallion. Correct con- 
formation and alignment of the legs, big, broad 
joints, heavy bone with quality, pasterns sloping at 
an angle of about 45 degrees, a short back and a 
long hip with the tail set high, great depth through 
the chest, or heart as we usually call it, great width 
of chest, with the front legs not set too far out, 
plenty of middle, with great width to hips and stifles 
— these points, together with a big, broad foot with 
a high heel and plenty of straight, clean, vigorous 
action at both the walk and trot, are the most essen- 
tial characteristics of a Percheron stallion. The 
things most to be avoided are improper conforma- 
tion and alignment of the legs. A perpendicular 
line projected from the middle of the front toe 
should bisect equally the pastern joint and the knee 
joint. A line passed through the point of the stifle, 
the point of the hock and the point of the hind toe 



528 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

sliould bisect equally the hock joint and the pastern 
joint. 

"A stallion should have at least 5 miles of exer- 
cise each day. Out of the breeding season the best 
thing is to work him moderately. He should have 
oats and corn enough to keep him always in good 
condition. He should be given enough bran or 
clover or alfalfa hay to keep his bowels in good 
shape. I think it is a great mistake to try to get 
a horse thin through starvation or lack of nourish- 
ing food. The old adage, 'Put your trust in God, 
and keep your bowels open,' works equally well 
with men and horses. 

''Grood brood mares should be feminine in appear- 
ance. They should be longer in the backs and 
broader in the hips and have more quality than 
stallions. They should be Avorked and always should 
be well fed. 

"Cleanliness and antiseptic conditions are essen- 
tial at foaling time. If the mare's bowels are not 
sufficiently loose from the feed and grass, epsom 
salts should be given to make them so. The mare 
should have a thoroughly clean box in which to foal. 
If the season and conditions are right, the pasture 
is just as good or better. The navel cord should 
be immediately treated with iodine or something- 
similar in order to prevent infection. Just so soon 
as the colt can eat it should be fed all that it can 
handle in addition to his mother's milk. The dam 
should be fed grain, in addition to the pasture, in 
order to increase the flow of milk. 

''In developing the colts I would advise feed, more 
feed, and still more feed, with oats if possible; oats 
are the great developer of hard, clean, flinty bone. 
If oats are not available, feed corn, and plenty of it. 
For the first two years of its life a colt cannot be 




KOXTACT ST2T7 (9riS04), FOrRl"H-PRIZE AGED STALLIOX, IXTlCRXATION.VXi 
LIVE STOCK EXPOSITION, 191G. 




GEORGE P. S2495, RESERVE CHAjMPION AMEIRIOAN-BRED «TAIjLION, ILMNOIS 
STATE FAIR, 1916. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 529 

fed too much grain, as this induces early maturity, 
great size and heavy bone. 

"During the fall and winter after weaning the 
colt should be fed all the grain he will eat, with 
enough succulent feed, such as bran and clover or 
alfalfa hay, to keep his bowels in good condition. 
When the colt is turned out to pasture in the spring- 
he should still be fed grain in order to make him 
grow properly. I always prefer a hill pasture for 
yearlings, as it induces great muscular development. 
The winter that the colts are rising twos they should 
run in a paddock or field together, and should be 
fed all the grain they will eat. The spring and sum- 
mer when they are two-year-olds they should still 
run together in pasture, with plenty of grain ; the ex- 
ercise that they take playing with each other adds 
greatly to their development. 

"The fall that they are two-year-olds, when it 
becomes necessary to separate them, they should be 
placed in boxes, with paddocks if possible, and fed 
all they will eat. A few carrots do them a great 
deal of good at this time. 

"In a sentence: in order to develop a Percheron 
stallion to his best estate, it requires from the time 
he is foaled plenty of exercise, either voluntary or 
forced, and all the feed that one can induce him to 
consume, and of such a nature that his bowels are 
always kept open." 

W. S. Corsa. — The buyer of Carnot is a close stu- 
dent of animal form and his observations have 
weight: 

"Fortunately for the horse-breeding interests, 
owning a stallion is largely a matter of convenience. 
Some one man or set of men usually will provide the 
stallion, but no one gets anywhere in raising horses 
unless he owns mares. While every one of us is 



530 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

vitally concerned as to the stallion he is to use, the 
fact remains that more men own mares than own 
stallions. The wide, general interest is in the mares; 
the deep, personal pleasure for us and our families 
is in the produce of the mares, while attached to 
them and surrounding them are perpetually per- 
plexing problems periling the profits. 

"If the mare delivers a good foal annually, she 
does her part. If the foal is raised and properly 
developed, the owner does his part. If both mare 
and owner do their part, then there is pleasure and 
profit in the business. With this end in view we 
must start with the right kind of mares. This 
w^ould seem first to require soundness. Although 
the available stallion may be a breeder and an im- 
pressive sire, sound and of correct pattern and suffi- 
cient size, we cannot expect him to overcome a 
material unsoundness in the mare. 

' ' The size of a brood mare is also of importance. 
"VYe would not expect to raise real drafters from 
1,400-pound mares; the offspring at maturity are 
seldom more than chunks. On the other hand, there 
is quite a temptation to use, and a very general 
demand for, the 'ton mare.' There are many such 
mares that are quick in their movements and handy 
at work on the farm; they make good mothers and 
regular breeders. They are the exception, however, 
a,mong those of their size. In general, I believe the 
experience of breeders of purebred live stock will 
bear out the statement that the excessively large 
females are seldom the best breeders. 

''A mare weighing from 1,700 to 1,800 pounds in 
ordinarily good condition is the draft mare that 
may be expected to give a good account of herself 
both at work and in the stud. Get size in the off- 
spring through the selection of the sire and through 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 531 

the kind, quality and quantity of feed given the 
colts. Fortunately, it is among these under excessive 
weights that we find the greater number of mares 
of acceptable brood type — sweetly feminine sorts 
which usually have necks long enough so that one 
may put his arm around and love them. 

"Avoid flat, shelly feet, straight pasterns, crooked 
hind legs, excessively sloping rumps, low backs and 
straight shoulders, both in the mares and in the 
stallion to which they are bred. The size of the 
bone may well be considered, though too much stress 
frequently has been placed upon mere size. It is 
the quality, however, which counts. We want a 
clean, flat, hard, flinty bone, and enough of it to 
hold up the mare and carry her on any work she 
may be called upon to do. It is desirable also that 
the front legs should not cut under too much just 
below and back of the knee. 

"Having found a mare that is somid and accept- 
able in size, type and conformation, let us hope and 
pray that she has snap and courage to carry on the 
work that comes with the heat of the day and to 
pass them on as an heritage to her offspring. Such 
a mare not only moves more gaily, but is likely to 
move more correctly than the dull-headed, wabbly- 
legged mare. 

"It is idle to expect a soft, flabby, or poorly con- 
ditioned mare to stand up under the heart- and 
body-breaking stress of spring work, much less to 
conceive. It is to this weakened condition of the 
mare far more than to the condition of the stallion 
that the failure of most of the early spring mating 
is due. Stallion owners commonly recognize that 
mares begin to settle when the let-up comes in the 
spring work, about the time that most mares have 
a little chance to begin to gain. Mares that are 



532 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

grained into gaining condition and are hardened by 
proper exercise or work are ready for spring labor; 
also they are in condition to be bred. The prevailing- 
practice among breeders of live stock other than 
horses is to have all the young come at about the 
same time, so that they can all be carried along and 
finally sent to market together. For obvious rea- 
sons this does not work out well in the foal crop. 
Where several mares are on a farm for the dual 
purpose of farm work and raising foals, the farm 
work is less interrupted and the foals can be given 
better care and attention if the entire foal crop 
does not make its appearance at once. Practically 
ever^^ farmer can take care of one or two early foals, 
say of March or even late February foaling, if he 
wants to. The early foal, like the early calf or pig, 
has an advantage over the younger things when 
fall comes and it is time to show or sell. If, how- 
ever, one is not equipped and lacks the energy to 
care for foals in the early days of the year, then 
by all means let him arrange to have the foals come 
at grass time. For the many this will be the more 
favorable time. 

"If one wants to make some preparation for the 
early foals, it is all very simple and inexpensive. 
A small building containing two boxstalls, each 18 
by 20 feet, separated by a space 6 feet wide, serves 
every purpose. The south half-end of the space 
may be inclosed to make a very comfortable place 
for a man to wait for the expected newcomer. The 
building should face south, and entirely across the 
front should run a strip of 4- or 6-pane window 
sash, so that every bright hour may bathe the stalls 
in sunshine. This simple structure should be placed 
a short distance from other buildings and away 
from other horses. Adjoining it should be provided 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 533 

a nice lot where the mother and her baby may enjoy 
themselves free from the danger and annoyance of 
other horses. • 

"But whenever and wherever the foal comes, when 
the mare lies down it must be somebody's business 
to be on the spot ready to help the mare and take 
care of the foal. Inexperienced men, either through 
excitement or through ignorance, too often unduly 
hasten the coming of the foal. This is bad for the 
mare and often fatal for the foal. The rope is fre- 
quently called into use too soon, and more often is 
used too severely and without judgment. Give the 
mare a little time; nature will assist powerfully if 
left to herself. 

' ' The navel cord of the foal should be left untied. 
Paint at once with iodine and completely cover with 
some drying powder. The powder should be applied 
repeatedly until the cord has entirely dried up and 
healed. In aggravated cases give the iodine treat- 
ment once or twice a day, spraying the interior of 
the cord if the trouble is extreme, and apply the 
powder three or four times a day. Beware the little 
pus pockets. As a further precaution against navel- 
ill, give the first bacterin treatment in 24 hours; 
repeat in 6 days and again when the foal is about a 
month old. Fortunately for men remote from a 
veterinarian, this treatment does not require pro- 
fessional services. Any one with ordinary horse 
experience can do the work.* 



*NoTE — Touching the important matter of Pyemic and Septic Joint 
Diseases of Sucklings (Omphalophlebitis Septica) Dr. Theo. C. Tiede- 
bohl supplies the following: 

"This disease is both contagious and Infectious, affecting a new 
born animal, occurring usually in the first few days of life, and seldom 
after 30 days, and in the greater majority of cases, it develops as the 
result of umbilical infections, due to the fact that the stump of the 
umbilical cord still being moist but yet no longer nourished, making it 
a favorable seat for infection, infective organism gains entrance into 



534 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

"As soon as the foal is able to stand, it should 
be given an injection of warm castor oil or warm 
soapy water, preferably castor oil. This should be 
repeated, if necessary, until the caretaker is satisfied 
that all the little hard lumps have been expelled. 
Many foals are lost because the caretaker is too 
quickly satisfied with the results of one injection. 

"If all has gone well the mare should be rebred 
on the ninth day after her date of foaling. Do not 
neglect this. In our experience mares bred at that 
time are much more sure to settle in foal than when 
bred at a later date. Assuming that her foal is 
exceptionally good, then by all means, if possible, 
breed the mare back to the same stallion as before 
just as long as this excellence in the produce is 
evident. Do not change; rather count yourself for- 
tunate that you have this happy ' nick. ' 

"Foals are inquisitive youngsters and when only 
a few days old will begin nibbling around the grain 
box. From the time they are two weeks old, they 

the blood vessels and either causes a local pus formation or gains 
entrance into the circulatory system itself. 

"From a bacteriological standpoint, no specific orgeuiism has been 
isolated that I know of at this time. The varieties which are usually 
found are as follows: Bacillus Coll Communis, Bacillus Bipolaris 
Septicus and Streptococcus. 

"As for the treatment, many medicinal agents have been employed, 
but with varying results. The Bacteria treatment is now the most 
valuable adjunct. It consists of injections of killed bacterial cultures 
containing varj'ing amounts of killed bacteria, the doses varying from 
one billion to ten billion. The bacterin is injected hypodermatically 
under the skin. The point of inoculation should be antisepticized with 
any good standard antiseptic, using about a 5% solution. If the infec- 
tion is known to exist on the place, a second dose should be given 
about the 6 th daj% followed if necessary when the colt is about 30 
days old. 

"No harm can result from the injection of bacterin if they are made 
by a reliable firm. There are many vaccines on the market. Some 
of them are called Poly\-alent, due to the fact that they contain killed 
cultures of different types of bacteria. Others are Autogenous, etc^ If 
the laymen are to employ bacterin treatment, it is well for them to 
state when ordering the bacterin, the use they want it for and the 
biological companies will send them bacterin made from cultures, 
suitable for navel infection. It is usually put up in small 1 CO 
ampules in solution ready for administration." 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 535 

should have their daily chance at the ' wee bite, ' and 
as they get older do not make the bites too 'wee.' 
Crushed oats and bran make excellent feed. There 
may be a better, but we need not worry about that. 
About this time the foal on most farms is having 
its troubles. Often the mare and foal have to fight 
it out with too many others of the same kind or with 
mixed lots of horses. The ideal arrangement is 
for the mare and her foal, with no other horses, to 
be placed in a grass lot that has not been pastured 
by horses for at least a year. The nearer this con- 
dition can be obtained, the better the foal thrives 
and the freer it is from infection and trouble. 

"The next critical period for the foal is at wean- 
ing time. Then the ravages of distemper are most 
threatening, and an unchecked outbreak is always 
frightful and frequently fatal. However, with the 
colt long since a good feeder and carrying consider- 
able immunity from previous bacterin or serum 
treatments, it only remains to reinforce the immu- 
nity against distemper by vaccinating a week before 
weaning and by following with the same treatment 
a week after weaning. The colt with his compan- 
ions is now headed for winter quarters. Before 
going, however, there is another good foot trimming 
and leveling and, if it has not been done previously, 
he is neck-branded. The brand, usually a herd num- 
ber, is made a part of the owner's records. This 
is for the convenience of the owner while he lives, 
and afterward, if necessary, for the convenience of 
his administrator. 

"Just a last word about the little fellows as they 
are taken from their mothers and put in their winter 
home. This has been freshly prepared for them, 
thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Throughout the 
winter it should be regularly cleaned and occasion- 



536 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

ally disinfected. Arrange the quarters, if possible, 
so that the colts may go in or out at will, except 
in stormy weather, when a gate may be used to 
keep them within shelter, where they will be out 
of drafts but supplied with an abundance of fresh 
air. If the gate to the shelter opens out on several 
acres of grassland where the colts may play tag and 
nibble a little lunch between their two regular daily 
feeds of grain, there will be some very happy and 
probably very profitable colts. And profitable colts 
are the controlling and compelling argument in favor 
of the use of draft mares on the farm. ' ' 

A. L. Robison & Son. — From this firm we have the 
subjoined remarks touching the management of 
mares and foals: 

''At the outset it may be said that the man who 
would succeed in the management of Percheron 
mares and foals must have mares of correct pattern, 
and they must all be of that one pattern. The more 
nearly they are alike in bloodlines the better, and 
they must be mated with a sire of the same type 
that has likewise descended from an ancestral line 
of which he is a typical specimen. It is a thankless 
task wasting good feed and faithful care on mares 
and foals that do not resemble some one definite 
standard. The greatest mistake young breeders 
make is in picking mares here and there that strike 
the fancy. Years later they may awake to the fact 
that the diverse types or uncongenial bloodlines, or 
likely both, have foiled their attempts to produce 
such colts and fillies as the breed needs. With a 
foundation uniform both in pattern and ancestry 
one is assured that the offspring will be of the same 
sort. Then there is the foundation on which skillful 
feeding and care will build finished horses that are 
a monument to competent management. 




ROSELAXD S7467, FIRST-PRIZE AGED JURE AT ILLINOIS STATE FAIR EST 1916 
AXD RESERVE CHAMI'IOX AT S.UIE SHOW. 




LEGITIJIE 9897S (99,^^, FIU-T-rRI7E ls^n-\rAU Ol D iXD GBANB CHAMPION 
MARE, INTERNATIONAL LIVE STOCK EXPOSITION. 1913 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 537 

'' Producing matrons must not be allowed to take 
on a load of fat. Thrifty, vigorous, muscular, big- 
boned mares are easy feeders, and a Idnd-liearted at- 
tendant may get them so fat that they will not breed 
regularly. It is best to have them come through the 
winter in moderate flesh. Then during the spring 
on bluegrass pasture they are fed corn generously, 
perhaps 10 ears twice a day, so as to be gaining in 
flesh at the time of breeding. By this plan they get 
in foal much more promptly and surely. We never 
pasture timothy and clover in the spring, for the 
mares do not breed so well on anything but blue- 
grass. Those that have foals are left on the pasture 
all summer, and fed sufficient com to keep them in 
strong flesh but not fat. Oats are not so good for this 
purpose, as they are apt to cause colic in horses get- 
ting early summer grass. After Aug. 1 we feed some 
oats. Mares that are not suckling foals are given no 
grain when on pasture. They are, however, usually 
put in the harness and worked through the season.* 

"We do not breed two-^^'ear-old fillies. There are 
several reasons. Such early breeding probably checks 
their growth to some extent, and our records show 
that it develops irregular breeding and a shorter 
period of production. The filly bred so young is 
restless at foaling time, and is not a good mother. 
She is likely not to breed while suckling her first 
foal at three years old, and that starts her at the 
very beginning with the every-other-year habit of 
breeding. We sometimes put two-year-olds to light 

*NOTE — Readers will observe that Robison & Son recommend gen- 
eral use of corn with, mares, and as the practice they follow is opposed 
to that pursued by a majority of breeders, it may be well to state that 
while Robison & Son have obtained satisfactory results with their 
system of feeding-, this may largely be due to the fact that they have 
extraordinarily good bluegrass pastures, mixed with white clover, and 
that such pastures are not overstocked. The high protein content of 
bluegrass has apparently served in. their case to balance the surplus 
of corn. 



538 A HISTOBY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

work. At three tliey are bred and put to work for 
the season. Early work develops a large feeding 
capacity, as well as powerful frame and muscle. It 
accustoms tlie fillies to being handled, and so they 
behave well when maternal duties come upon them. 
Some of our best old brood mares did not produce 
their first foals until five years old. 

*' After the foals are weaned in October, and the 
milkflow is dried up, the mares are turned on good 
pasture, and fed 5 or 6 ears of corn and 3 quarts of 
oats apiece twice a day for sixty days, to build up 
their flesh in good shape for the winter. After that 
they get no grain until spring. During the winter 
they run on bluegrass pasture and second-crop tim- 
othy in the meadows, but are not allowed in stalk- 
fields. "We are also careful to keep them out of oat 
stubblefields late in the fall, for frosted green oats 
cause abortion. The mares are not fed straw either. 
Special care is exercised to keep them away from rye 
straw, as a very little rye ergot is sufficient to cause 
abortion. Besides the grass from which they often 
paw the snow, the mares have free access to stacks 
of timothy hay, with just a sprinkling of clover in it. 
Sometimes they are fed a little cane, but never any 
corn-fodder. Fodder with the ears on is a dangerous 
feed for a band of mares, because at some time one 
of the mares is almost sure to get too much corn and 
lose her foal as a result. 

*'The brood mares have no shelter in winter, other 
than the haystacks for a windbreak. They will crowd 
in quite closely and quietly around the stacks during 
a storm. When we have tried turning them to the 
sheds they at once begin to fight for a monopoly 
of the shelter. In that case a big shed only protects 
the 'boss' mare anyway, and there is the danger be- 
sides of injury from kicking. The mares that run out 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 539 

all the time do not mind the cold. On some of the 
coldest nights they will be found far out in the field, 
and when the snow is deep thej are out early pawing 
away the snow to get at the grass beneath. Tlie 
water tank for the mares has a heater, which is kept 
burning all winter, so that they cannot become sud- 
denly chilled by taking a big drink of icewater. "We 
see tO' it that they come up to drink twice a. day. 
Drinking cold water is more likely to cause a mare 
to lose her foal than exposure to a rain or snow 
storm, even with extreme cold weather immediately 
afterward. 

"In the spring the mares that are soon to foal 
are kept in pastures near the barn. At night those 
that are soon to foal are put in a little pasture near 
the house, and some one goes to look at them about 
four times during the night or even every hour, in 
some cases. This attention is absolutely necessary, 
if one would avoid the frequent loss of foals and 
sometimes the loss of a valuable mare. Whenever 
help is needed it is needed at once. If the afterbirth 
does not all come away naturally, within a day, the 
uterus is flushed full of warm antiseptic water and 
the membrane removed carefully by hand. The 
mare is fed lightly at first after foaling. She is not 
given much grain for the first two v/eeks. If she is 
fed heavily there is too copious a flow of milk, and 
the foal is likely to develop digestive disorders, and 
maybe die. Mixed timothy and clover hay is about 
all that is needed at first. 

''Mares are bred at the ninth day after foaling and 
are tried regularly thereafter for several periods. 
Breeding is more successful in the afternoon, as the 
mares are quieter then after returning to the pas- 
ture. Dry, shy-breeding mares are worked all day 
before they are bred. After the first two weeks from 



540 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

foaling, some corn is fed to the mare, and the amount 
is increased to a heavy feed a couple of weeks later. 

' ' The earliest foals are taught to eat at four weeks 
old by putting a little bran, whole oats, shelled com 
and alfalfa-molasses meal in a litte feedbox just 
out of reach of the mares. In the pasture a feed 
trough is kept in a pen, with a creep provided, so 
that foals can go in but the mares cannot. After the 
first foals learn to eat, they are fed twice a day in 
this trough, and the later foals learn to eat by imita- 
tion. Sometimes they begin at two weeks old. They 
are given all the grain they will eat twice a day, and, 
after they get well accustomed to eating, the feed is 
mainly oats. There is no danger of overloading 
them with fat or injuring the joints when they are 
running out day and night and get plenty of exercise. 

''All the foals that are as much as four months old 
are weaned about Oct. 1. To do this each mare is 
tied at the feed trough in a long shed and her foal is 
haltered and tied alongside with a rope it cannot 
break. Of course, it pulls and tugs at it for a while, 
but no damage is done. The mare is right there and 
the youngster soon settles down to good behavior. 
As the foals are all thoroughly accustomed to dry 
feed, they do not miss the milk much, but go right on 
eating and growing. The mares are fed timothy 
hay alone and milked dry twice a day for a few days. 
It helps if one greases the udders with warm lard. 
After the milk is dried up the mares are turned out 
on pasture and fed grain in preparation for winter. 
The weanlings are given the open shed for shelter 
and run on pasture for sixty days, with grain. They 
are likely to get wormy at this time and rock salt 
is a useful preventive. 

' ' Beginning in December the colts are put in box- 
stalls, two or three tosrether, at night, and turned 



SELECTION, CABE AND MANAGEMENT 541 

out to pasture in the daytime. Tliey are fed oats, 
bran, slielled corn, chopped cane, oilmeal and alfalfa 
hay, all they will eat. The colts grow faster and de- 
velop a greater feeding capacity on alfalfa hay than 
they used to have when we fed mixed timothy and 
clover. Their grain is principally oats. The first 
winter is a critical time with a colt. If fed so as to 
grow well up to the age of 12 months, the colt may 
be kept going easily enough on good pasture in sum- 
mer and rich hay in winter, supplemented with 
enough grain to maintain a good degree of flesh, so 
that there is no lack of nourishment at any time in 
the year." 

Lee Brothers. — Selection and care of breeding 
stock is discussed by Mr. J. H. Lee of this well- 
known Kansas firm: 

'■ ' The selection of a stallion to use either on pure- 
bred or grade mares should be studied carefully. 
One should exercise his very best judgment, not only 
as to the animal's individuality and breeding, but 
as to what he will do in the stud. One horse may 
be a good individual but be lacking in bone, another" 
in size, and so on. 

^'In all our experience we have found it easy to 
right a wrong early, not waiting until we have one 
or two crops of colts and then seeing where our 
stallion is lacking. Some localities want a heavy, 
low-down block; others want a tall, rangy, light- 
boned horse. My idea of a good Percheron stallion 
is one which at the age of three or four weighs about 
a ton, is black or gray in colors, neither the low- 
down kind or the tall, rangy kind, but one well bal- 
anced all around. I want him wide between the 
eyes and with a good, clear eye. I prefer hazel 
eyes, as they seldom lose their sight. See that his 
ears are well set, not pointed or drooping, but stand- 



542 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEKON HORSE 

ing up well and about the same distance apart at 
top and bottom. He should show a clean-cut neck 
nicely set on his shoulders, with his head up to 
attract attention. I want always to see a. wide 
breast and clean, flat bone, not a meaty, large bone 
(it will always give trouble, both in the stallion 
and his offspring). Well-set limbs are essential; 
see that he is not buck- or calf-kneed, and that he 
is clean around his pastern joints. Look for side- 
bones; they are considered by 75 per cent of the 
farmers as a buyer's trick to buy horses cheap, but 
they have worked more harm to the heavy horse 
for market than any other one thing in the past 
five years. See that the horse has a good hoof, not 
the pancake kind or the narrow, contracted kind, 
but a well-shaped, solid hoof. If one follows this 
he will find a good front end. Next have the stallion 
deep through the heart, close-coupled, good of 
Avithers, strong in topline, well-sprung of rib and 
with a place to carry some hay, not too sloping on 
the hips, with a well-set hind leg clean at the hock, 
no curbs, thoroughpins, bog or bone spavins, and 
clean about his pasterns. See that his legs are well 
set; no one wants a cow-hock or a crooked leg. Have 
the salesman move the horse from you, first at a 
walk, then at a trot; watch closely and see that he 
moves straight away, that he is not a paddler or a 
weaver. 

*' Often high-fed horses that have had the ship- 
ping fever or distemper are left weak in the back 
or a little thick in the wind. My advice would be 
not to buy either kind because he is cheap; in the 
long run he is high-priced. Our old stud sire, Scip- 
ion, now in his 18th year, is as clean as a ribbon 
all over and sound, except for being cut a little in 
the wind, due to his age. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 543 

''The care of the stallion will show itself in more 
than one way. He should have a good boxstall, if 
possible 25 feet square, with a high ceiling and 
ample light. It should be in a place where he can 
see what is going on around him, see the other 
horses come and go and feel that he is not alone. 
A stallion likes company. Give him from 3 to 6 
miles every day to a cart or at the side of another 
horse, and when the breeding season is over hitch 
him with a steady horse and put him to work. In 
the beginning start at light work, increasing it each 
time, from an empty wagon to a manure spreader 
and hay-hauling, and from that to any kind of work 
at which he can have plenty of time, so as not to 
become overheated or broken in constitution. Dur- 
ing the breeding season turn the stallion into a blue- 
grass or clover pasture of 2 or more acres, or at 
least give him a paddock 200 feet square, where he 
can have plenty of exercise and see everything that 
is going on. Give him plenty of good alfalfa hay, 
or perhaps prairie hay, and feed him equal parts 
by measure of bran and oats, together with a small 
amount of corn chop. Wet this feed well. Some 
horses require a greater amount of feed than others. 
In starting a new stallion in our bam he is tried 
out with a very small amount of feed. This is 
increased little by little, until we have him eating 
what we think he should have. Our foreman re- 
quires one thing of our feeders — the horse must be 
ready for every meal, 

"In buying the brood mare a man can use almost 
the same rules as in buying a stallion. Her care 
should be the care of any good horse. She may be 
worked hard in the field while carrying her foal, 
if at night she is given a good place to rest with 
good feed. After foaling let her rest for ten days 



544 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

or two weeks, rebreedmg lier on tlie 9tli day_ if 
possible. Then leave the baby in a boxstall, with 
other foals or alone. Bring the mother in from the 
field once between morning and noon for her baby 
to nurse. Never allow the mare to get too hot or 
the foal to nurse when the mare is hot. 

''When the foal is thirty days old put some oats 
where it can nibble at them; increase the amount 
as it cleans them up, until oats may be left in the box 
for the foal to eat any time. As time goes on 
and the baby is left at the stable, try turning it 
out in a small pasture with a few calves or foals 
where it can eat grass and get plenty of exercise. 
When the foal is two months old it will not be neces- 
sary to let it nurse between regular meal times, but 
you will have a better colt if you do. After the 
foals are six months old and weaned turn them 
on alfalfa pasture, if possible, and feed them grain 
twice each day. When the pasture is killed by frost 
or is too closely cropped, take them to their winter 
quarters, preferably a place where they can have 
plenty of exercise all day and a shed to shelter them 
from storms at night. Do not start to put them in 
the closed bam or shed; let them run in and out at 
any time; have plenty of clean alfalfa where they 
can run to it, and feed grain twice each day. 

''One reason that the colts in this country do not 
mature so quickly as imported stock is that we are 
too stingy with our feed. However, most of the 
imported stallions have their growth at two and 
one-half years, while our stallions will continue to 
grow until five years of age. We always feed plenty 
of oats and very little com to growing colts. Oats 
make bone and keep them growing, while com makes 
fat and in time will bum out their stomachs. 

"We let our colts run together until the December 




KEOTA JAIAP 1&61S6, SECOXB-PRIZE TWO -TEAR- O'LD iSTAIXION, INTEKNA- 
TIONAL, LIVE STOCK EXPOSITION, 1916. 




IVAN 10S116, FIRST-PBIZB THREE -YEAB-OLD, OPEN CLASSES, AND CHAJMPION 
AMERICAN-BRED STALLION, INTERNATIONAL LIVE STOCK: EXPOSITION, 1916. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 545 

or January before they will be two years of age, 
then put them in boxstalls and give plenty of clean 
straw, alfalfa, oats, bran and some chop feed wet, 
three times each day. The barn man should take 
them out of their stalls every morning and clean 
them well, even their hoofs. Arrange so that they 
have a paddock to run in at least every other day. 

' ' Teach tlie colt to stand when out of the stall, and 
teach him to move. Let the barn man start with 
him, and follow, not with a whip, but with a corn- 
shuck to make a shuffling noise, something new to 
the colt. After a few times he will be moving like 
a coacher when he hears the shuffling of the shuck, 
and will never know how he learned it. Whips in 
the showring have lost more blue ribbons for horses 
than they ever won." 

Dan Augstin's Story. — Thirty years of Percheron 
breeding are thus recalled by Mr. Augstin: 

"Ever since I can remember I have been inter- 
ested in Percherons. When only a lad I used to go 
over to the old Dillon place to 'talk horse' every 
Sunday that mother would let me. That was a great 
treat to me, as fine draft horses were very scarce at 
that time. I learned a great deal in this way about 
the breeding and showyard records of these good 
horses. I made the vow then that if I ever got to 
be a man I too would own some Percherons, 

"When I first started farming for myself I had 
only 80 acres of land and was not able to put my 
money in purebred Percherons. I did the next best 
thing and purchased high-class grade mares. These 
were bred to the best Percheron stallions in the 
community. My grade colts from such sires as old 
Powerful and Kellermann developed into massive, 
big horses of the right type. I made a strenuous 
effort each year to have every mare have a foal, and 



546 A HISTOKY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

it was not long before I had plenty of horses to use 
and some to sell. These big, strong-made colts 
brought good prices, considering horse values at 
that time. Soon I was able to sell enough horses so 
as to buy more land. This policy I have continued 
to follow until my farm now comprises a total of 
400 acres. 

'^I bought my first purebred Percheron mare in 
1888. Seldom have I made a mistake in buying a 
mare, because I never allow myself to be persuaded 
into taking anything that is not of good breeding. 
If I buy a filly I make sure that she is out of a mare 
that produces the right kind and does it quite regu- 
larly. I have bought a few imported mares, whose 
parents and past records I could not trace satisfac- 
torily, but in so doing I have always made it a prac- 
tice to buy nothing except good individuals from 
reliable importers. Frequently, when times were 
hard, I have bought mares for which I thought I was 
paying twice as much as they were worth. However, 
I always satisfied myself before I made such a pur- 
chase that the mare was the kind I wanted. After 
30 years of experience in the business I have found 
that the initial cost of an animal is of little concern, 
if it is the right kind. Some mares are just as high- 
priced at $500 as others are at $1,500. 

''I beleve more in Percheron bloodlines than many 
breeders do. If Percheron breeders generally would 
pay more attention to selecting animals of the right 
kind of breeding, progress would be made more rap- 
idly. Now that the war has cut off the importation 
of horses from Europe and we are trying to produce 
the good kind here at home, the cry has gone up 
from everywhere, 'I am in need of a good sire.' 
Breeders are just now coming to realize that con- 
structive breeding of the highest degree cannot take 



SELECTION, CAEE AND MANAGEMENT 547 

place without the right kind of bloodlines to build 
upon. Why have purebreds and pedigrees, unless we 
give preference to those families that have been pro- 
ducing the desirable kind I When I first started in 
the business I bred my grade mares to the best sires 
available at a cost of $25 or $30 for the service fee. 
My neighbors thought I was crazy, but they soon 
saw the error of their ways. 

"Frequently one hears it said, 'I want a stallion or 
a mare, but I will not buy anything but a prize- 
winner. ' No greater mistake was ever made. Of 
course it is a fine advertisement to have a champion 
in the stud, but not all champions produce cham- 
pions, by a long way. Many outstanding individuals 
come from the common ranks. Always select the 
very best breeding stock available ; but that does not 
mean that one should purchase a prizewinner and 
turn down one that is not. Many show animals are 
ruined as producers and many equally good individ- 
uals never see the tanbark. I have made a great 
many mistakes since I first began, but believe that 
I have made fewer in selecting my breeding stock 
than in other ways, because I have given bloodlines 
and individuality first importance and price only sec- 
ond concern. 

"In my early experiences at selling Percherons I 
never permitted a man to go away if he really want- 
ed to buy and would offer me anything like a reason- 
able price. Here is where so many of our small 
breeders make a serious mistake. They ask such un- 
reasonable prices that a dealer can not buy. The 
small breeder is not well enough known to sell at 
retail and often holds his stock long enough past 
the right selling time so that the feed bill eats up 
all the profit. Whenever an animal is looking at 
its best and one wants to sell it, then is the time to 



548 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

cash in, provided of course that he can get anything 
like a reasonable price. The small breeder almost 
always loses money if he passes up a dealer who is 
a good buyer, thinking that the price ought to be 
as much as the dealer would ask if the animal were 
in his own bam. That is not good business logic. 
Many breeders in this country still have this lesson 
to learn if they are going to produce breeding ani- 
mals to sell profitably. The demand is now wide 
open for all the good Percherons we can produce, 
but the small breeder is likely to stand in his own 
light by misjudging his stuff and thinking he has 
an animal that would warrant a long price, when 
as a matter of fact he has only an ordinary individ- 
ual. Effective selling goes a long way toward mak- 
ing the business profitable. 

"Feed and care are as important as breeding and 
individuality. The average breeder needs to be 
schooled along this line more than any other. I have 
proved to my own satisfaction that there is nothing 
else so essential as feed and care in producing pure- 
bred draft horses. Since we began treating our foals 
at birth with antitoxin streptococci and having them 
come when the mares can get on the grass, we have 
had practically no deaths. We give them an in- 
jection of this antitoxin when they are a few hours 
old and then again in about a week. Altogether 
too many breeders make the mistake of having their 
foals come too early in the spring. They are inclined 
to be constipated because their mothers have been 
on dry feed so long. There is also much more danger 
of other complications setting in when dam and 
youngster must be kept in a stall for some time with- 
out exercise. 

"I am sure from my own experience, that a far 
larger percentage of the foals bom during the latter 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 549 

part of April and May live than of those that 
come in February and March, I find also that I am 
more successful in getting my mares in foal by 
breeding during the second heat period after foaling 
than on the 9th day. This gives them a chance to 
heal before being bred, as well as to rest somewhat 
before entering upon another year's work. 

"Just so soon as the foal shows signs of wanting 
to nibble grain I tie the mare up and give it a box 
to itself. It gets all the oats and bran it will eat 
from that time on. We sprinkle a little shelled corn 
on the oats and bran. Our foals seem to like a little 
corn particularly well. To this we add a little alfalfa 
meal in the winter, but not in the summer, as the 
molasses is likely to sour to some extent and sweet 
feeds draw flies around the feedbox. A foal always 
does better if fed in a clean box. Good alfalfa and 
clover hay are the best roughages. We use these 
feeds for all our animals, even our mature show 
horses. We never use black-strap molasses, as it 
always causes more or less digestive troubles. It is 
not any trouble to get a horse fat if it is healthy and 
has plenty of clean feeds, with good water to drink. 

"For best results one should keep the idle mares 
that are nursing foals in the bam in the daytime 
during the hot weather and turn them out at night 
on good pasture. Generally speaking, we never let 
our foals go hungry from the time they will eat until 
they are well along toward maturity. We push our 
stallion colts harder than we do the fillies in order 
to make them salable sooner. One can not feed a 
colt too much of the right kind of feed, if he gives 
it plenty of exercise. We feed all our weanlings all 
they will eat, but keep them out of doors in large 
paddocks and pastures every day, unless it is storm- 
ing badly. Open sheds or large boxstalls with doors 



550 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

opening into a large lot are most suitable for de- 
veloping colts of this age. In fact we handle all our 
stallion colts in this way until the winter be- 
fore they are three years old. Of course, if we have 
a colt which we wish to fit for the show, we keep him 
by himself. In the main we run our stallion colts 
together, even though we intend to show them. It is 
useless to expect that one can put on as much flesh 
that way, but he can unquestionably grow a more 
rugged and sturdy colt. 

"Every man who raises colts in this way knows 
that he has more or less trouble with sore heels. The 
fact that such colts take an abundance of exercise, 
which gives them a strong appetite to consume more 
feed than they otherwise would, clearly overshadows 
such an annoyance as sore heels. We even run our 
two-year-olds, weighing 1,700 to 1,800 pounds to- 
gether, but they do not look their best in the show- 
ring. I know, however, that they are worth more to 
the man who buys them than if they were kept up in 
boxstalls all the time. By raising my colts in this 
way I have very little difficulty with filled hocks. It 
is more economical to develop them by such a method 
because it requires less labor. 

' ' Farmers are comparatively busy most of the year 
and have not the time and in many cases lack the 
help to give their stallion colts the exercise they need 
if they are kept shut up in a bam. Every farmer 
can provide his colts a good grass paddock, however, 
and let them do their own exercising while he does 
something else. Here is where the French breeders 
have the advantage of us. They have unusually fine 
pastures and furthermore every effort is made to im- 
prove them, because the French breeders fully realize 
the importance of developing draft colts out of doors. 
My long experience in developing stallion colts has 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 551 

taught me the importance of liberal feeding, but 
there must be an abundance of outdoor exercise, 
preferably in good pastures." 

U. L. Burdick. — A deep interest in Percheron 
breeding has been manifested by Mr. Burdick, one 
of the present directors of the Percheron Society, 
and we only regret that he has not favored us with 
a more extended statement: 

' ' The essential features of a draft stallion are good 
feet, strong, flat bone, and size well balanced with 
quality. I would not select a horse with light bone, 
nor with poor feet, nor with large size unless he 
had quality to go with it. Nor would I select a 
horse with quality if he did not have size. I am 
speaking about ranch conditions only. 

"Stallions should have plenty of good hay and 
oats, and plenty of exercise in a fenced lot. 

"Brood mares must be selected with as much care 
as the stallions. The fine little Percheron mares 
rarely make successful breeders. Turn the mares 
out in a good pasture and let them foal as far away 
from the barn as possible. 

"We try to get the foals to eat oats as early us 
possible, and they do not shrink a pound in weaning. 
Oats, water and hay left to colts to take at their 
own will mature them more quickly than any other 
method." 

On the Northv/estern Range — The following from 
I^It. J. P. Gammon of northern Wyoming will be 
found of special interest: 

" Thirty- three years ago I began the breeding of 
Percheron horses on the range in northern Wyom- 
ing. I realized at that time that in order to be 
successful in this far-western country the horses I 
raised must be of a good quality, excelling the pam- 



552 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

pered horses of the lower altitudes in breeding and 
size. My start in the business consisted of a number 
of high-grade and purebred mares, of good colors 
and size, picked to conform to my idea of what good 
dams should be. I chose for the head of the band an 
imported stallion that weighed 2,140 pounds, as good 
a horse as I could purchase at that time. With this 
start I have been able to build up by the purchase 
of new blood, always of the best, until I now have 
a band of Percherons that is the delight of all who 
see them. 

' ' In the early days the country was new and there 
was plenty of good grass; the horses made excellent 
growth and kept fat the year around, running on 
the range. Later, as the country was stocked and 
the settlers came in large numbers, the range kept 
getting shorter, and my horses came in thin in the 
spring instead of fat as before. I saw that if I 
coutinued in the horse business I would have to 
change with the country. The day of the range was 
passing; it was necessary to provide some means 
of feeding through the winter, and about the only 
Avay to do this was to secure a ranch from which 
I could cut hay, and also have pasture for use as it 
became necessary. I finally purchased a ranch at 
the foot of the Big Horn Mountains, where I could 
cut plenty of hay and raise grain and also have 
plenty of pasture when necessary. Being close to 
the forest reserve of the Big Horn Mountains, I 
could also use that in summer, giving the horses an 
ideal summer pasture at the nominal cost of 35 cents 
per head for the season. I have been operating this 
ranch for several years, using the forest reserve in 
the summer. Late in the fall I bring the horses off 
the mountains and feed them on alfalfa hay until 
the grass starts in the spring. Under this system 




vKO.ME llCl.-.l. CHAMriOX STALI.IOX, KANSAS STATE FAJR, 1916. 




GRENAT S07U (71632), CH^UIPION STAliUUX, ILLLVOIS STATE EAJE, 1912. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 553 

I raise horses to maturity that would, surprise the 
average easterner. 

"About Jan. 1 I wean the foals, and during the 
first winter I feed them oats and alfalfa hay. I 
find that in this way I can raise horses that compare 
favorably with the eastern horses that are fed hay 
and grain throughout the year, and I think we get 
a much more haxdj and tougher horse, of immense 
lung power and a constitution that cannot be ex- 
celled in the lower altitudes. One of the noticeable 
things about the horses raised in this country is 
that even many of the larger ones can be worked 
all winter without shoes. Actual tests show that 
the average range-bred and range-raised horse has 
a bone as solid as the Thoroughbred, and that the 
legs are usually free from puffs and enlargements. 
The horses which I have raised under western con- 
ditions are as large as or even larger than the eastern 
horse. I have mares in my band that have never 
tasted grain, except during the first winter after 
foaling, that weigh from a ton to 2,200 pounds, and 
I have also had two-year-old fillies weighing as much 
as 1,900 pounds. 

''By buying a young stallion in the east and ma- 
turing him here I get a larger horse with more and 
better bone than would have been the case had he 
remained in the east until maturity. I account for 
this by the fact that our feeds are so much stronger 
and of so much better quality than those grown in 
the eastern states. This is a broad assertion, but 
our oats seldom make less than 40 pounds to the 
bushel and have gone as high as 48, and I am 
threshing today oats that are yielding 80 bushels 
to the acre. The last three stallions that I bought 
in the east for my own use prove to my mind that 
my assertion is true. Two of them I bought as year- 



554 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

lings, and tlie other was 5 months old when pur- 
chased. The first two made horses that weighed 
2,350 pounds, and the other weighed 2,225 pounds 
as a three-year-old. 

' ' The big factor that has aided in the development 
of these big-boned, heavy horses under our condi- 
tions is the fact that even the stallions that neces- 
sarily have been brought into our herds have become 
acclimated with a marked degree of rapidity. They 
could, if the occasion demanded, be put under exactly 
the same range conditions as all the mares and young 
stuif endure. There seems to be something about 
the Percheron that is highly adaptable to range 
conditions. They can build bone and size with 
scarcely any grain. This is important and should 
not be overlooked by the western horseman when 
selecting horses for size, and horses that will have 
to rustle to no limited extent during many months 
of the year. 

"Another pleasing feature of the horse business 
under range conditions and as we are handling them 
is the freedom from many of the more common dis- 
eases and unsoundnesses. Seldom are we confronted 
with problems in doctoring sick horses. Neither do 
we have animals discarded because of inferior bone 
or poor vitality. There is also a noticeable uni- 
formity in the results of our breeding work. I can 
only account for it by the fact that our horses have 
the free use of a large domain of excellent range, 
plenty of good mountain water, hay of first grade 
throughout the winter, a great deal of work ' and 
exercise for the mares when kept in close pastures, 
and the continuous freedom for exercise of all our 
breeding stallions. We are giving to the lovers of 
draft horses a big, well-made horse, tipping the 
scales at more than a ton and doing a vast amount 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 555 

of work — all from grazing on the range and a nearly 
grainless ration. These horses are transmitting their 
draft characteristics to their purebred offspring and 
also are proving of milimited value in crossing on 
smaller-typed horses. 

"Four good legs constitute the foundation of any 
draft horse, and a square, compact, close-coupled 
body must follow a close second. From an expe- 
rience covering a long term, of years I have reached 
the conclusion that we can raise better horses here 
in the west, with its pure air and splendid water 
and range conditions, ideal for plenty of exercise, 
feeding them nothing but hay and grass, than can 
be raised under the ordinary eastern conditions 
where the horses are fed all kinds of feed during 
the entire year. Our horses are as large as the 
eastern horses, and more free from blemishes or 
imperfections. It has also been my observation that 
the Percheron is one of the best rustlers of any of 
the draft breeds, often going through the winter 
under the same conditions as the common range 
animal and many of them coming out in the spring 
in good shape and fit for work. The tendency in 
this country is toward the Percheron, with better 
sires and dams than were found a few years ago. 
In a large number of the horses of the Percheron 
breed that I see today on the farms of this comity 
I can trace a resemblance to my first sire, brought 
into the country years ago. With the passing of the 
years this improvement will be more noticeable." 

Management of Foals and Yearlings. — We are in- 
debted to Messrs. M. C. Hodgson & Sons for this 
statement of their experience in the feeding and de- 
velopment of young stock: 

"At the very outset, credit must be given to Eli 
Hodgson, father of M. C. Hodgson and grandfather 



556 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

of the younger members of our firm, for much, of 
the success that has accrued to us in our Percheron 
operations. His sound counsel in regard to the se- 
lection of foundation animals and the feeding and 
management of young ones has been of incalculable 
value. While we have gained some things from long 
experience, the fundamentals on which our success 
has been based have come largely from Eli Hodg- 
son. 

"For some years we had our foals come in Feb- 
ruarj^ and March, because early-bom colts have an 
advantage in the showring and in selling. But after 
many 3^ears of experience we have changed the time 
of foaling, and now have our foals coming during 
the latter part of April and in May. We would 
much rather have them foaled in June than in 
March. Our experience has shown us conclusively 
that the mares foal more easily, the foals have more 
vitality, and the percentage of loss is much lower 
vrith the later foals. Under conditions prevailing 
in our latitude it is possible for our mares to foal 
out on pasture after Apil 15, and they do foal on 
pasture in the great majority of cases. A good 
bluegrass pasture, Avell exposed to the sun, is the 
safest place we have found in which to have a mare 
drop her offspring. We let the mare run out day 
and night, unless a bad storm comes up, in which 
case we put her in a boxstall if she is near foaling. 
In such case we take particular pains to see that 
the stall is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with 
one of the coaltar dips. We then put in some clean 
straw and sprinkle more disinfectant over this. Our 
plan of having the mares foal on pasture when it is 
possible, and to put them in thoroughly cleaned, well- 
disinfected stalls in the few instances when it is 
necessary to have them foal inside, has enabled us 



I 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 557 

to reduce the loss through navel-ill to a minimum. 

' ' We keep careful records of the breeding dates of 
our mares. We know when they are about to foal, 
and from long experience we have learned to tell 
quite accurately about when they are to drop foals. 
We make it a rule to be with the mare when she 
foals, whether in the pasture or in the barn, either 
night or day, for if a mare does not foal safely within 
30 minutes from the time she starts, intelligent help 
must be given. 

"Besides having been able to save more foals by 
having the mares foal fairly late, we have found 
that mares are much more apt to become pregnant 
if bred after the grass is good and they have begun 
to make satisfactory gains on pasture. Any ex- 
perienced stallion owner will testify that mares bred 
in March and April are hard to settle. This is of no 
slight importance when every effort is being made 
to get every mare safely in foal. 

"After the foals are dropped, they run with their 
mothers in pasture night and day until hot weather 
and flies begin to cause trouble. They are started 
on grain feed when they are about four weeks of 
age. As soon as the mares begin to bunch up in 
the pasture and fight flies, we adopt the plan of 
housing the mares and foals in a cool, partially dark- 
ened barn during the daytime. They are put in 
about 7 'clock in the morning and left in until 4 or 5 
o'clock in the evening. Each mare is tied in a 
roomy double stall, which has two feed boxes and a 
manger for hay. The mares are fed grain twice a 
day, and as soon as the foals have learned to eat they 
are given some grain in a separate feedbox beside 
their dams. The youngsters are not tied up, but run 
loose in the barn, which has a wide central alleyway 
where they are at liberty. 



558 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

''For roughage we place mixed clover and timothy 
hay in the mangers for the mares and foals. We 
also place some bright alfalfa, hay in a separate place 
where the foals have access to it. Both mares and 
foals are allowed all the hay they will eat, but when 
they are on good pasture they do not utilize very 
large amounts. Our grain ration is the same for the 
mares and foals, and consists of bran and oats mixed 
in the proportion of 2 bushels of oats to 1 of bran. 
This is mixed and fed dry. The mares are allowed 
a moderate ration of this — about a half-pound per 
100 pounds of live weight. A mare weighing 1,600 
pounds will receive about 8 pounds of the grain 
ration per day. This is divided into two feeds, morn- 
ing and evening. The foals are allowed all of this 
grain mixture that they will eat up at two feeds 
per day, although we take the precaution to see that 
they are not given enough to cause them to leave 
any grain in their feedboxes from one feed to the 
next. 

"Both the mares and foals are turned out about 
4:30 or 5 o'clock in the evening, and run on blue- 
grass pasture all night, being taken in again in the 
morning. This general policy is continued through- 
out the entire summer. The bam doors are closed 
in the daytime, and the barn is partially darkened, 
so that the flies cause little trouble. 

"We do not work mares that are nursing foals, as 
we usually have enough dry mares or young horses 
to do our farm work. We believe that we get better 
results with the foals by not requiring the mares 
that are nursing them to do anything while they 
are raising their offspring. Our policy of giving 
some grain to the mares while they are nursing foals 
may be objected to by some, but we have found 
that it increases the milk flow and contributes ma- 



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LACTINE 101472 (100912), RESERVE SENIOR CHAMPION MARE, INTERNATIONAL 
LR'E STOCK EXPOSITION, 1916. 




TURQUOISE 110346, FIRST-PRIZE TWO-YEAR-OLD AND RESERVE CHAMPION 
MARE, INTERNATIONAIi UTV^B STOCK EXPOSITION, 1916. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 559 

terially to the rapid development of the youngsters. 

*'We make it a rule to wean the foals about Nov. 
1. They have been haltered some time before this, 
but are not tied up until we are ready to wean 
them. We place a strong leather halter on each 
one, but also take the precaution to run a rope 
through the halter rings and tie it around the neck, 
fastening it to the manger, so that there is no possi- 
bility of a colt's breaking loose when first tied, there- 
by acquiring bad habits. The mares are turned out 
in pasture but are brought back the following day 
and the foals are allowed to strip them out once. 
After this the mares are turned back in a separate 
pasture and do not see their young again for some 
weeks. The foals are kept tied up for two or three 
days, until they have become accustomed to the 
halters and have forgotten in some degree about 
their mothers. We then begin turning them out 
during the daytime, keeping them tied up at night. 
We take the time at this period in their growth to 
halter-break them thoroughly. From this time until 
the following May they are turned out regularly 
on bluegrass pasture every day and are kept in at 
night. The only exception to this is in case of a 
cold, wet storm during the winter. They are kept 
in out of the storm. 

"From the time the foals are weaned until the fol- 
lowing spring we give them alfalfa hay for rough- 
age, and for grain allow each about 3 ears of corn 
per day, and in addition to this all of the oats and 
bran mixture they will eat. This system is followed 
until the pasture grass is very good the following 
spring, usually about the 10th or 15th of May. From 
this time until the hot weather and flies begin to 
bother the colts they are allowed to run out on 
pasture, both night and day. The stallions are sep- 



560 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

arated from the fillies about this time, and the year- 
ling stallions are kept in the barn during the day. 
We have a half -basement barn which is fairly cool 
during the summer, and turn the yearling stallions 
into it during the day. This is partially darkened 
and some burlap strips hanging down protect the 
colts from the flies. Our yearling stallions receive 
the oats and bran mixture, fed three times a day 
throughout the entire summer and fall. They are 
given about all they will clean up. In addition to 
this, they have access to mixed clover and timothy 
hay, and alfalfa when we have it. This is given to 
them in the mangers during the day in the barn. At 
night they run out on bluegrass pasture. 

"We usually have from 6 to 12 yearling stallions 
that are handled in this way. They are all allowed 
to run together. It occasionally happens that one 
will get his heels tramped on by some of the others, 
but by watching closely and by taking such a colt 
out immediately we have little trouble. It is of 
course necessary to use some carbolic salve, or 
something of the kind, on the injured part until it 
heals up, but as soon as this is done, the colt is turned 
out again with the rest of the bunch. We have not 
had much difficulty on this score. 

"The yearling fillies are usually turned with the 
two-year-old fillies into a separate pasture, where 
they run out both night and day throughout the 
entire summer. We do not feed any hay to the fillies, 
but give them a moderate ration of the oats and bran 
mixture. This is given twice a day. Their allow- 
ance probably amounts to half-a-pound per 100 
pounds of live weight per day. 

' ' In November or December we begin tying up the 
yearling stallions at night, but allow them to run out 
during the day. From this time until the following 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 561 

spring, or until they are sold, these stallions coming 
two years old receive about 5 ears of corn each per 
day, and in addition all of the oats and bran mixture 
that they will clean up. They are fed three times 
per day. For hay, we continue with the mixed clover 
and timothy, although we would feed alfalfa if we 
had enough of it to supply all of our horses. So far 
we have not had enough, and so have retained it for 
the younger colts. 

"The fillies coming two years old are tied up, 
when we have room. If we do not have enough room, 
they are allowed to run loose in the shed, where they 
are protected from the cold storms and where they 
may take refuge during the night, but they are out 
every day during the winter on pasture. 

"By following these general methods we have 
made excellent gains on our foals and yearlings. We 
have found it very advantageous to keep the mares 
and foals in and protected from the hot weather and 
the flies, as our own experience and our observa- 
tion of operations on other farms have satisfied us 
that extreme heat and flies materially retard the 
development of foals. We have been able to secure 
quite satisfactory growth in bone and muscle. Our 
colts have matured into rugged, heavy-boned, mas- 
sive draft horses, standing from 16Vl to 17 hands in 
height by the time they are 24 months of age. The 
weight varies with individual colts, but they are 
deep-bodied, well-proportioned, and with size and 
weight enough to balance their height and general 
development. We believe our policies of feeding and 
management of yearlings and weanlings are justified 
by the results. We seldom have had any two-year- 
olds left unsold. If we do carry over a colt, it is 
usually one that we want to develop or use in our 
own stud. We have realized substantial prices for 



562 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

the colts of our own breeding and raising by the 
time they were from 20 to 24 months of age. 

"It is quite likely that our policy of liberal feed- 
ing might not be justified if good breeding and 
Percheron type did not exist in the colts to which 
this system was applied. The colts which we have 
raised, however, have been bred by us from mares 
whose dams and grandams, and in some cases their 
great-grandams, were bred by the members of our 
own family. 

"Eli and M. C. Hodgson made an importation of 
12 weanling fillies in 1881. All of the mares now in 
our stud trace back to three of the twelve, which is 
merely an indication of the careful attention that we 
have given to eliminating animals that did not sat- 
isfy us in type. On the other hand, we have held 
fast to the most desirable strains that have come 
into our possession, and never have permitted any- 
one to purchase our best mares. By persistently 
retaining our best mares and by the long-continued 
use of good sires, we have been able to produce a 
band of mares that are of good type, excellent in 
set of legs, good in the feet, and real producers of 
rugged, drafty colts which have found a ready sale 
before they were two years of age. We are satisfied 
that the tendency to breed regularly, the tendency 
to prolificacy, is just as certainly transmitted as color 
or type; we have held fast to our most prolific 
strains. 

"Any breeder who will select good foundation 
stock, breed to good sires, and follow out intelligent- 
ly the same general methods in feeding and man- 
agement cannot fail to realize substantial profits 
from his Percherons, but emphasis must be placed 
on persistent, patient, never-ending watchfulness." 

Feeding Alfalfa^Mr. J. C. Robison of Towanda, 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 563 

Kans., lias this to say about the use of this great 
forage plant in connection with horse breeding: 

''My father sowed the first piece of alfalfa in this 
county in the spring of 1895. We have increased 
the acreage until now we have about 1,000 acres of 
it. We have pastured it a little, but find it does 
not pay to do that, as we get so much more feed 
from the same acreage by mowing it and feeding 
as hay. 

"If the alfalfa is cut when about one-tenth in 
bloom, we experience no bad results from feeding 
it, either from heaves or in any other way. Our 
Percherons are allowed to run to the alfalfa stacks 
or to eat as much as they like in the bams, and I 
am sure we are able to put on more pounds of flesh 
and make more growth, both in bone and muscle, 
than on any other feed with a smaller amount of 
grain. We prefer to mix with it some kind of coarse, 
rough feed, such as sugar-cane hay, shock com or 
straw, as the horses crave these feeds when given 
alfalfa. 

"Alfalfa has been the salvation of Kansas and the 
west." 

The experience of J. A. Gifford, Twin Falls Co., 
Idaho, in feeding alfalfa seems of particular value. 
He says: 

"When living in Kansas in 1896 I seeded 50 acres 
to alfalfa. The stand was good. I cut the weeds 
with a mowing machine, carrying the cutterbar high 
enough so as not to injure the alfalfa, and let them 
lie. The next year I cut the alfalfa and stacked it 
in the field. When I came to the tops and bottoms 
of the stacks, that hay was fed on the ground, the 
horses being allowed to eat as much of it as they 
would. They began to show signs of heaves. After 



564 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

I built barns, I no longer fed damaged hay to my 
horses, and I have seen no signs of heaves among 
them since. 

"I have raised colts from birth to maturity on 
grain and alfalfa hay, and they have made before 
weaning time from 100 to 150 pounds of gain a 
month. I expect a colt from 5 to 6 months old to 
weigh from 700 to 800 pounds, and at 12 months 
about 1,200 pounds. I want more mature hay for 
horses than for cattle, and they should clean it all 
up each time it is fed. I consider one acre of alfalfa 
cut and fed judiciously worth more than two acres 
pastured. By judicious feeding I mean to give no 
more than will be cleaned up each time. 

"I have had experience in both stacking and 
housing hay; I am strongly in favor of housing. I 
built a haybarn in the middle of an alfalfa field, 
intending to cure the hay in the windrow, with buck 
rakes take it to barn, drop it from the rake to a 
sling, and so get it into the barn. But I found that 
the dew, without any rain, bleached the hay, and 
I decided to shock it. I could not handle it satis- 
factorily with rakes, and so laid them aside. I made 
floats, 7 by 14 feet with a railing 2 feet high at each 
end. On each of these I laid a sling, with each end 
fastened to the top of the railing. These I put on 
a slingload, drove to the barn, hooked onto the sling, 
and put the hay into barn. No leaves were wasted. 
I am highly pleased with this method of handling 
hay. 

"I regard alfalfa as the best hay for growing 
out any kind of stock that I ever fed. I am careful 
not to put it into bam in such a condition that it 
will mow-burn." 

Importance of Soundness. — Mr. J. S. Golder, a Ne- 
braska breeder of long experience, gives some useful 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 565 

hints to beginners, especially in reference to the 
matter of nnsonnclness in draft breeding stock. He 
says: 

"To the young man setting out to own a team of 
high-class Percheron mares I would say, start right, 
however small the beginning may be. If he has only 
the one mare and she is a good one, he need not be 
ashamed to show her. If he can take that one mare 
to the fair and get first prize on her, he will have 
done something that many an older and larger 
breeder has never accomplished. 

'^Many people have an idea that purebred mares 
require more care than grades. This is entirely er- 
roneous. They do not require it ; but somehow they 
seem to get it, which goes with the spirit of success. 
In order to begin right, I would impress upon the 
prospective buyer to buy them sound. Do not 
squeeze the eagle too hard. Use good judgment and 
buy them sound. I would rather have one good one 
and have her sound than half-a-dozen good ones and 
have them unsound. When you go out to buy an 
animal and find it a little coarse in the pastern, turn 
it down, and hard at that. If you hesitate, the seller 
may try to cover it up mth a lot of excuses. Then 
one asks himself whether it will breed on. Of course 
it will, not only for one generation, but through half- 
a-dozen. I know for sure that it will persist for three 
generations. It matters not whether it is a coarse 
pastern or a coarse hock, bad eyes or bad wind, they 
are all the same when it comes to breeding. 

' ' I once bought a stallion. He was a good one, but 
developed a sidebone at the age of four. Most of 
his colts developed sidebones at the age of two. More 
than that, nearly every one of his fillies passed them 
on. We were forced to put them all on the auction 
block and sell them as coarse in the pasterns for what 



566 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

they would bring. While some thought they went 
cheaply, and they did, they were dear too. 

''I believe that the horse business now has the 
brightest future that it has known in many, many 
years. With the importations cut off,. American 
dealers find that they can get just about what they 
want at home, and perhaps somewhat cheaper. The 
American farmer and breeder can raise them just as 
good and big as they can in France if he will. We 
have just as good feeds and much more room to ex- 
ercise them in. That is another place where the 
young breeder makes a mistake — not giving enough 
feed of the right kind, and not enough exercise. Feed 
liberally of the right sort of feeds, such as oats, bran, 
alfalfa, clover and such, and do not confine the horses 
to a boxstall. " 

Growing Purebred Percheron Fillies. — Prof. J. L. 
Edmonds of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment 
Station summarizes the results of careful study of 
this subject at the University of Illinois farm in the 
following language: 

"W^ell-bred young things deserve good feeding. 
They demand it, if profits are duly considered. Their 
growing-out should permit the fullest development 
of inherent possibilities. 

"A record of the feed consumption and increase in 
weight and height of a lot of 10 purebred Percheron 
weanling fillies, foaled in 1914, was made at the Illi- 
nois Experiment Station. These fillies were carried 
through two winters and one summer — from late in 
the fall of the year in wliich they were foaled until 
they were ready to be turned on grass as two-year- 
olds. 

''These fillies were fed home-grown rations. The 
grain feeds were oats and corn, one-half of each by 




TTIMBIiEB RACK FOK C'OLT-KEEDLNu IX rADJJOCKb.— SEK ABXICLE 
BY PROF. EDMONDS. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 567 

weight. Grain was fed three times per day, except 
when the fillies were on grass ; then it was fed twice 
per day. During the first winter the oats and corn 
were ground. Alfalfa hay was the sole roughage 
used; it was fed twice per day, except when the 
fillies were on pasture, during a part of which time 
no hay was fed; after the pasture became short hay 
was fed once per day. More grain would have been 
eaten than was fed. With the alfalfa hay, however, 
the aim throughout the trial was to feed as much of 
it as would be thoroughly cleaned up. Alfalfa, com 
and oats were the feeds selected, because it was de- 
sired to obtain good results with farm feeds without 
recourse to purchased mill feeds. The pasture, 8 
acres in area, was bluegrass, with a slight mixture 
of timothy, orchard grass and medium red and white 
clover. 

"During the first few weeks the fillies were 
allowed as much grain and hay as they would readily 
consume. This, although it resulted in good gains, 
did not seem to be a profitable or entirely safe pro- 
cedure, because of the high grain consumption. Ac- 
cordingly the grain ration was gradually restricted 
until it was reduced to an amount which insured the 
consumption of a pound or more of alfalfa hay per 
day to the hundredweight. Experience here would 
seem to indicate that a liberal portion of well-cured 
legume hay should be the foundation for feeding 
young, growing horses. In addition to the legume 
roughage, enough grain should be fed to produce 
good growth. The feed sheets indicate that as the 
individual becomes older, it is possible and desirable 
to decrease the proportion of grain and increase the 
proportion of hay and still obtain excellent results. 
Alfalfa, hay fed with corn and oats gave results of 
a character which indicate that there is little or no 



568 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 

need of feeding bran or other purchased mill feeds 
when a good quality of alfalfa hay can be grown on 
the farai. Alfalfa hay, because of its high protein 
and mineral content, especially calcium, is suited 
to grow the heavy muscles and large, strong bones 
which are necessary for the real drafter. A greener, 
leafier quality of hay was fed to these fillies than 
usuall}^ gives the best results when fed to hard- 
worked horses. In the case of these growing fillies 
it was not found necessary, as is the case with ma- 
ture animals, to limit the amount of alfalfa hay 
which was fed. Furthermore, when alfalfa hay is 
the roughage used, a considerable proportion of the 
grain ration, in this trial one-half by weight, may 
be corn, the grain grown in greatest quantity in the 
middle west. 

"From this and similar trials it seems quite clear 
that in addition to liberal grain-feeding to growing 
drafters, which is admittedly necessary and import- 
ant, the development of size and quality of bone is 
also intimately associated with the grazing on pas- 
ture of nutritious grasses and clovers, and the feed- 
ing of good legume roughages during seasons when 
such pasture is not available. In this test desirable 
growth was made on pasture which was not fully 
indicated by the weights of the fillies. On most 
farms the use of more pasture than was available 
in this trial would be of advantage. A grain feed 
of approximately % of a. pound of grain per day 
to the hundredweight of filly seems to be enough 
to produce proper development on pasture. 

"Since, as the experiment showed, 45.35 bushels 
of corn, 79.36 bushels of oats, 2.58 tons of alfalfa, 
and % of an acre of good pasture kept an individual 
of the kind used in thrifty and salable condition 
from the fall of the year in which it was foaled 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 569 

up to the time when it was two years of age, it 
would seem worth while to grow out well-bred 
young drafters properly. Thus we may obtain the 
size and finish which experience has shown to be 
necessary for the greatest remuneration. 

' ' The accompanying table is of interest, because it 
gives feed consumption and gains by seasons. The 
table shows that the largest and quickest gain for 
the feed consumed was made during the first winter. 
During the first winter an average of 5.674 pounds 
of grain and 4.266 pounds of hay were required per 
pound of gain. The second winter-feeding period 
required an average of 9.228 pounds of grain and 
12.99 pounds of hay, the average grain requirement 
per pound of gain being at this time almost twice as 
much and the hay requirement slightly over three 
times as much as it was during the first winter. The 
table showing the results in detail follows. 

''A study of these figures would seem to show the 
fallacy of attempting to make good draft horses by 
roughing weanlings through the winter, with stunted 
yearlings as a result. Continued liberal feeding 
through the summer and the succeeding winter made 
big, growthy, two-year-old fillies that were much 
nearer maturity than if they had been forced to sub- 
sist on a ration too limited in either or both the 
quantity and quality of the nutritients which it con- 
tained. It is of particular advantage to have pure- 
breds well grown at two years of age, because well- 
grown individuals of both sexes are in good demand 
at that age. 

''The average weight of the lot at 12 months of 
age was 1,112 pounds; at 24 months of age, 1,548 
pounds. The average weight of 8 head (the two 
youngest fillies being excluded) at corresponding 
ages was 1,128 pounds and 1,578 pounds. The 



570 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 



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SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 571 

growtliiest filly of the lot weighed 1,260 pounds at 
12 months of age and 1,775 pounds at 24 months. 

"The three sets of prices used in obtaining the 
feed costs of growing these fillies during the time 
of the experiment were as follows: $86.88, when 
afalfa w^as $16 per ton; corn, 56 cents per bushel; 
oats, 40 cents per bushel; pasture, $2 per calendar 
month per head. $105.50, when alfalfa was $14 per 
ton; com, 65 cents per i)ushel; oats, 40 cents per 
bushel; pasture, $1.50 per 28 days per head. $108.49, 
when alfalfa was $11 per ton; corn, 50 cents per 
bushel; oats, 35 cents per bushel; pasture, $10 per 
acre, for 8 acres." 

Buying, Feeding, and Selling Draft Geldings. — 
Mr. Mat Biers is known throughout the entire United 
States as one of the most successful buyers and 
feeders of the draft gelding. His long and success- 
ful experience renders the following statement par- 
ticularly valuable. He says: 

'*I was born and brought up on a farm in north- 
central Illinois and began buying draft geldings 
22 years ago. For 2 years I worked for a man 
named Peterson, who bought and fed good draft 
horses. I began to admire good horses while work- 
ing with Peterson, and during the time when I was 
feeding cattle and horses for him I occasionally 
bought a good gelding, took it home and fed it out. 
Peterson bought nothing but good grade draft 
horses, the bigger the better. 

''Shortly after I got married I began to trade in 
draft horses and bought very good thin geldings. 
These I fed out and sold. After about three years 
I formed a partnership with Peterson and we 
began to buy draft horses for Eosenberg. Horses 
were extremely cheap then and we were buy- 



572 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

ing on a commission of $5 per head. After we 
had followed this plan for some time, we quit and 
began to ship and feed for ourselves. We usually 
shipped about 3 loads per week. This was some 
15 years ago, and I have been located in Mendota, 
111., for the last 19 years. In more recent years 

1 have been operating alone. 

"The first and most important consideration in 
feeding draft geldings is to buy the right kind at 
a price that will permit a profit. A horse well 
bought is well sold. It is unwise to buy a horse that 
is too low in condition, it requires too much time 
to get him in shape. I prefer to select only those 
horses which can be sold at any time after purchase 
at a fair profit. I aim not to buy horses that will 
not finish out satisfactorily within 60 days, as I 
do not believe it pays a dealer to feed longer than 

2 months. Horses that have to be fed 3 or 4 months 
to get them in shape for market cost too much in 
the way of feed. 

' ' The second important point in making purchases 
of draft geldings is to buy them at the right time. 
The demand for drafters is a seasonable one. They 
will not sell to good advantage except during the 
late spring and early summer months and again in 
the early fall months. I like to have my heavy geld- 
ings ready to sell during the latter part of April or 
early in May, or if I do not wish to market them 
at this time I want geldings that I can turn off 
late in August or early in September. There is 
a relatively light demand for the very heavy draft 
geldings at other times of the year, and many men 
lose money on the draft geldings they purchase on 
account of buying them at the wrong time of the 
year. They are then compelled to sell them when 
draft geldings are not in strong demand, or if they 







] 




,1 


il ■ ' 


^nt 






1 f 



PINK BBILLIAXTE 57S97— CHASCPION CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL, 1916. 




HYSOPE, CHA3IPION MARE ESTEIRNATIONAIi EXPOSITION. 1912. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 573 

do not sell them, they are obliged to cany them 
so long that the profit is taken up in extra feed 
bills. 

"Farm chunks weighing from 1,200 to 1,500 
pounds sell to the best advantage during the months 
of December, January, and February, and there 
is no market of any consequence for horses of any 
kind during June. This, of course, has not been 
true during the last two years, as the war demand 
has been heaviest during the summer, but I am 
speaking of the general commercial demand. 

*'In selecting heavy draft horses for feeding, I 
aim to buy about 60 days before I want to place 
the horses on the market. I look for a big horse, 
preferably one standing from 16.2 to 18 hands high. 
Of course, anything from 16.1 up can be made into 
a big horse, if he has the right proportions and is 
given the feed necessary to finish him out. Eighteen 
hands is too high, unless the horse is well propor- 
tioned. A good draft gelding should have depth of 
chest equal to one-half his height, and have the 
spread of rib, depth of flank and other parts in 
proportion. In buying horses for the heavy gelding 
trade, they should weigh from 1,600 to 1,650 pounds 
to start with, and have the height mentioned. They 
can be fed out to 1,900 or 2,000 pounds. 

' ' My ideal horse to put on feed is one that stands 
around 17 hands high and is well proportioned, 
weighing about 1,650 pomids in moderate condition. 
Such a horse on feed 60 days will increase at least 
an inch in height on account of the fact that the 
flesh fills up over the withers and the feet grow 
out longer. I want a horse that has a good big 
head, clean-cut and wide between the eyes, with 
well-set ears and reasonably long neck, clean-cut in 
the throttle, with fairly sloping shoulders and a full 



574 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

breast. I want my horse to be heavy through the 
shoulders, deep through the heart, with a short 
back, well-sprung rib, and good length of rib, so 
as to give a deep middle. One should always buy 
a horse with a big chest and should never select 
one that is not short-coupled and heavily muscled 
over the loin; he should be wide and heavily muscled 
over the croup, thighs, and in the haunches, and 
should be massively muscled in the stifles. I prefer 
to have the croup slightly drooping rather than too 
straight ; horses that are very straight in their croup 
are inclined to be narrow through the stifle and 
thighs. The underpinning receives close attention, 
as I want my horses to stand squarely on their legs 
from front, side and rear. The pasterns should not 
be too straight, nor do I want a horse that is down 
too much on his pasterns ; a medium slope is desired. 

"The feet should be of good size and medium in 
height. Of the high-walled foot and the low-walled 
foot I prefer the high-walled foot, although I like 
to have a happy medium between the two. The 
foot that is low-walled is apt to be fiat and wide- 
spread at the heels, and such feet go to pieces al- 
together too rapidly in city service. 

"A sickle hock or a curby-formed hock is ex- 
tremely undesirable and should be avoided under all 
circumstances, particularly in heavy geldings, be- 
cause the heavy pulling that must be done is sure 
to make such hocks curby. The hock should be 
wide and clean-cut. I like to have geldings that 
will measure about IS^/^ inches of bone belQw the 
hock. They should have heavy bone, with the ten- 
dons standing well back in the forelegs. A little 
hair on the legs is not objected to, but very much 
feather is to be avoided. A little filling in the hocks 
does not cut the price of a big gelding to any 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 575 

extent, but large puffs or any indication of a bog 
spavin must be avoided. 

"A horse should have a good, big eye, preferably 
brown in color, and should be wide between the 
eyes. The eye orbits should be prominent, so that 
the eye sets well out on the side of the head. The 
small, hog eye always is to be avoided; that kind 
of an eye indicates a bad disposition and never 
lasts so well as a big, open eye. 

"Under no circumstances would I buy a horse 
with a small sheath; such a one is usually light 
in the middle and a poor feeder. Occasionally one 
will get hold of a horse with apparently ideal con- 
formation for feeding that has a small sheath; 
While I cannot explain just why such horses are 
poor feeders, I have always found that they are 
poor doers. I always pay close attention to the 
sheath in purchasing thin geldings for feeding pur- 
poses. 

"There are more good feeders among the grade 
Percherons and Belgians than among those of other 
breeding. I prefer geldings sired by Percheron and 
Belgian sires. It is difficult to describe the kind 
of thin horse that will grow out into a big horse of 
the right kind, but above all, he must have height, 
heavy bone, and the proper proportions in frame 
work. If he does not have these, no amount of. 
f eed will ever make the right kind of a horse out 
of him. 

'■ ' After buying the right kind of horses, I make it a 
rule to have them vaccinated as soon as they are 
brought in to town. They are treated with a hy- 
podermic injection of any of the good polyvalent 
bacterins before they are put into any livery stable 
or allowed to stand around a stockpen. I have 
found that if one can vaccinate horses before they 



576 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

are exposed to shipping fever lie will have very 
little trouble. In addition to this, I make it a rule 
to keep a shipping fever medicine on hand, and if 
the geldings show any symptoms of fever, I can usu- 
ally break it within 24 hours by using this medicine. 
I find that vaccination is a great help where I have 
to bring horses in from all parts of the country 
and put them in the same bam for feeding. I do 
not physic a horse when it is starting on feed, un- 
less it appears unhealthy, in which case I usually 
give a physic ball once or twice at the beginning 
of the feeding period. 

"As soon as I start the horses on feed, I tie them 
up in single stalls just wide enough so that they 
may lie down comfortably. I tie my horses in the 
stalls and never take them out from the time I put 
them in until they are ready to market. We even 
cany the water to them. A thin horse that has been 
working steadily will begin swelling in the legs, 
after being tied up in these single stalls and put 
on heavy feed. In fact the legs swell up until a 
man who did not know would think that the horses 
were utterly ruined. This swelling starts a short 
time after the horses are tied in, but will come down 
within 2 or 3 weeks; no one should be disturbed 
over this temporary swelling that occurs during the 
feeding period. 

"Long experience has convinced me that horses 
will fatten a great deal more quickly when tied in 
single stalls than when loose in box stalls or running 
out in yards or sheds. I have paid enough for my 
experience to satisfy me that there is no other 
method of feeding horses which is so economical 
and so conducive to quick results as keeping them 
tied in single stalls and never moving them out 
from the time they are started on feed. Not even 




KEOTA I.\SIi;ilT 1117242, RESERVE CHAMl'IOX S'PALl.KlX liREI) BY EXHIRITOR. 
IOWA STATE FA 1 11. r,ili; 




FAIR }1(iI'E 117:;7:i. AMEiaiAX-lUU:ii )!! ^EK\ E IENKjI! (HVMI'ION STAEIION, 
OHIOAGO IInTERXATIOXAJL, l&ld; SOLJJ FUR Jfo.OUO. 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 577 

should tliey be taken out to lead or sliow; moving 
them even 100 yards when they are on this heavy 
feed is apt to induce azoturia. 

"First and foremost, one must see to it that the 
horses are allowed plenty of salt, all the good fresh 
water they can possibly use, and an abundance of 
good hay. I always water my horses before feed- 
ing. They should never be watered immediately 
after being fed. Our experience has been that the 
water has a tendency to carry the feed through 
before it is thoroughly digested. 

"I prefer to feed five times a day, beginning at 
6 'clock in the morning, feeding again at 10 o 'clock, 
2 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock at night. They 
should be fed at the same time every day. I con- 
sider regularity in the feeding of the geldings al- 
most as important as any other one thing. If they 
are fed promptly, they will not fret and will do much 
better than if any irregularity in their hours of 
feeding is allowed. 

"I like to keep salt before my geldings at all 
times, to give them all the fresh water they can use, 
and to feed all the hay that they will clean up. I 
make it a rule to allow them all the grain that they 
will clean up within 25 or 30 minutes. One should 
not feed horses so much as to cause them to be 
indifferent to the feed when it is placed before them 
the next time. On the other hand, I aim to feed 
just up to the limit, so that the horse is always 
anxious for his feed at the next feeding period and 
yet is receiving about all that he will clean up. I 
prefer to feed ear corn, and with this I give bran 
and oats, preferably crushed oats and dry bran. 
I feed this in about equal proportions by measure. 
I have, however, had good results by feeding corn 
and oats in equal parts, and then giving the horse 



578 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

a bran mash twice a week at tlie evening feed. I 
use a little molasses in the wintertime, it hastens 
the gains on the horses by increasing their ap- 
petites and it also adds bloom to a horse's coat of 
hair. It should be thinned with hot water, and 
then sprinkled over the grain feed and over the 
hay. Never feed molasses in the summertime, how- 
ever, as it only attracts the flies, and one cannot 
keep the feedboxes clean when using molasses. 

' ' So far as hay is concerned, I prefer bright clover 
hay, but clover and timothy mixed make excellent 
feed. I do not like alfalfa for fattening geldings. 
While the first and second cuttings of alfalfa, if 
properly cured, make very good horse feed, one can 
never be sure whether he is obtaining the earlier 
cuttings or the later cuttings. The last cuttings 
are always too soft and cause too much work for the 
kidneys, and my observation has been that one 
is apt to have more trouble with the hocks filling 
up when alfalfa is used than when the other hays 
are fed. Besides this, I have found that my horses 
do not ship so well when fed alfalfa hay as when I 
have used the bright clover or the clover and timothy 
mixed. Do not use straight timothy, however; this 
w^ill bankrupt any man who undertakes to do it. 
I never use timothy alone, even in preparing horses 
for shipment or in shipping them, as it causes 
them to appear light in the middle and cut up in 
the hind flank. 

' ' During the late summer and early fall I feed some 
green corn, but it should be fed sparingly, as it is 
too soft as a rule to feed to horses that have not been 
on grain very long. Green com is a excellent feed, 
however, on which to start thin horses; it tones up 
the system and gets them in good condition to start 
fattening. I have fed some silage and find it very 



SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 579 

satisfactory, providing it has been put in wlien 
the corn is fairly well hardened and is good and 
clean-smelling, without the acid condition that is 
too often found in silage from com that is not 
suffciently matured. Extreme care must be exer- 
cised, not to give any silage that contains the least 
evidence of mold; moldy silage will kill horses as 
quickly as any feed I know of. 

"Be careful about using shredded fodder. If it 
could be shredded before being rained on and after it 
had become thoroughly cured, it would be excellent 
feed, but it is almost impossible to get shredded fod- 
der in that condition. I have found it very difficult to 
avoid colic when shredded fodder is fed. 

''I like to feed a tablespoonful of ashes made 
from ash or hickory wood twice a week, mixing 
it in with the ordinary feeds, but I do not feed any 
stockfoods or patent medicine tonics, I am afraid 
of them and do not believe there is any advantage 
in using them. If a man has bright clover hay and 
gives plenty of salt and water, his horses will keep 
in healthy condition and will not need tonics or 
salts to keep them from becoming unduly consti- 
pated. 

"So far as the amount of feed to be given is 
concerned , no hard and fast rules can be laid down. 
This is a matter that must rest in the discretion 
of the feeder, and the aim should be to give the 
horses all the feed that they can stand without 
overdoing it so as to cause them to lose their ap- 
petites. Some horses will consume a great deal more 
feed than others and will make much more rapid 
gains. I have had horses that have gained as much 
as 150 pounds in a month, but that is very unusual 
and ordinarily we figure on a gain of about 3 pounds 
a day on geldings being fed for the market. 



580 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

"There are some incidentals that contribute to 
success in feeding operations. Horses should be fed 
on dirt floors, if possible. When a barn is well 
drained and good dirt floors have been properly- 
built in the stalls, no better foundation can be ob- 
tained. The stalls should be kept carefully cleaned 
out, occasionally disinfected, and well bedded, so 
that the horses will feel disposed to lie down and 
rest frequently and for considerable periods. 

"We do :not blanket our draft horses in the 
winter, unless we are preparing them for some spe- 
cial sale and want to get a little extra bloom on 
their coats. In the summer we darken the stable, 
have screen doors, and also use large fly traps so 
as to keep the flies out of the bam as completely 
as possible. 

"I prefer open mangers, and would emphasize 
the fact that it is very necessary to keep mangers 
and feedboxes scrupulously clean. When our horses 
are ready for shipment, we reduce the amount of 
grain for the last 3 days before shipping and do 
not feed any grain at all on the day we ship, depend- 
ing simply on hay and water. 

"I prefer to sell my horses at my own barns and 
have always found it best to get the big eastern 
buyers to come direct to my place whenever I have 
a carload of good horses for sale. During the last 
year it has been decidedly injudicious to ship geld- 
ings to the large commercial markets. The tremen- 
dous trade in war horses and the large amount of 
shipping back and forth horses that did not pass 
inspection has spread influenza and shipping fever. 
If the geldings are taken directly from the barns 
where they are fed to the point where they are to go 
to work they are likely to get through in healthy 
condition and without any trouble of any kind. 



SELECTION^ CARE AND MANAGEMENT 581 

''So far as the trade is concerned, the chief de- 
mand for good, big horses comes from the eastern 
states. The big packing companies of Chicago are 
about the only ones that will take first-class geldings, 
as most of the Chicago trade is for a rather common 
class of big horses which can be bought more 
cheaply. The packing companies will not take a 
horse that is in the least degree unsound, but a 
small sidebone will pass the eastern buyers without 
much objection, and some of the eastern buyers will 
take a horse Avith a hock that is a trifle coarse, 
providing he does not go lame on it. We do not 
find many horses that are wrong in the wind, but can 
sell a horse on the eastern market that is a little 
off there if he will take a big load and walk along 
at a reasonable gait and make no noise about it. But 
if he does make a fuss, a $300 horse would bring not 
more than $150. 

' ' G-el dings on feed wdll make much more satisfac- 
tory progress if they are well curried every day, as 
this loosens up their skins, cleans out the scurf and 
makes them feel better. A stiff brush should be 
used, with plenty of elbow grease put behind it. 

''Never try to feed horses where there are chick- 
ens, because with chickens there will be lice and 
they will get on the horse in spite of everything 
one can do. If you buy a horse that has lice, use 
kerosene and lard, half and half; kill the lice just 
as quickly as possible. 

"Close attention should be given to the feet of 
the horses that are on feed, particularly in the 
summer, when the atmosphere is hot and dry. I 
prefer to pack my horses' feet in packing clay, but 
the ordinary kind of blue clay will serve the pur- 
pose. Make a good paste and plaster it over the 
horse's feet on the frogs. It is well to use some 



582 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

good hoof ointment. Rub it into the hoofs and the 
coronets, as this tends to stimulate the growth of 
the hoof and helps to keep it in good condition. 

' ' Care should be taken to give the horses plenty 
of fresh air. The barns or sheds should be well 
ventilated. The bams must be kept clean and well 
disinfected so that the stalls will not betray stable 
odors. Above all things get the horse to lie down 
as much as possible. Keep his stall in such shape 
and so well bedded that he will be encouraged to 
lie down and rest. Good rye straw is the best kind 
of bedding, and good wheat straw comes next. 

' ' Good, big, draft geldings, well proportioned and 
sound, Avill always bring a good price if properly 
fitted. Any farmer who has good com and oats 
and first-class clover hay can well afford to feed 
out the surplus geldings which he has for sale, as 
it wdll add much more to their value than the cost 
of feeding amounts to. In buying geldings for 
feeding j)urposes, however, one must have at least 
a $50 spread between purchase price and the price 
he expects to get when they are sold in order to be 
at all safe, and I prefer to have a little more than 
this where possible. Whenever I buy a thin gelding 
for feeding purposes, I have a mental picture of the 
kind of gelding he will look like when he is finished. 
I usually try to have in mind the buyer who will 
want just that kind of gelding, so that in my buy- 
ing and feeding operations I am selecting horses for 
certain specific purposes and certain particular buy- 
ers. No farmer should undertake to buy geldings 
for feeding purposes until he has had some exper- 
ience in finishing out his own surplus horses, or 
has acquired some familiarity with the task by feed- 
ing out small bunches, say 2 or 4 horses. Experience 
is a most valuable asset." 



SELECTION^ CARE AND MANAGEMENT 583 

Permanent Marks Por Percherons. — Tlie success- 
ful management of Percherons requires a method of 
positive identification of the individual animals. 
Satisfactory results can best be attained by perma- 
nent marks. On this subject we quote from the fol- 
lowing authorities: 

W. S. Corsa says: 

"I am convinced after years of trial of other sys- 
tems that the only satisfactory solution is in brand- 
ing the horses with plain figures on the neck. Prop- 
erly branded, no scar results and the animals are 
identified for life. I have within the past year 
adopted this plan with all my horses, and I am 
gratified with the resulting ease and certainty of 
keeping my records. Hereafter I shall include the 
brand for each individual as a part of the descrip- 
tion in the pedigree. By this system all doubt is 
removed, and in case of my death any administrator 
can go in and handle my stud of Percherons with 
the same certainty regarding each individual that 
I have myself. It also removes the possibility of 
error on the part of grooms in keeping service and 
foaling records." 

Lambert Keffeler, with more than 60 Percherons, 
states : 

^'I would not think of being without brands on 
my Percherons. Each animal has its own number, 
which is embodied in the pedigree. Errors are made 
impossible." 

U. L. Burdick says: 

"I consider a set of branding irons indispensable. 
It is a guarantee that the breeder's records are prop- 
erly kept and that each animal is absolutely true to 
pedigree. ' ' 



584 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

George Lane, owner of the largest stud of Perch- 
erons in the world, says: 

"Branding Percherons in plain figures, so that 
each animal has its own distinguishing number, is 
essential to any man who undertakes systematic 
Percheron breeding. It is the best possible evidence 
that the breeder is careful in his operations and that 
the animal is bred as represented. For the benefit 
of those not familiar with details of the work, I 
am pleased to give the following instructions: 

"The branding irons must be of copper. The 
sample set shown in the illustration is correct in all 
respects. The colts to be branded should be blind- 
folded and the hair be clipped from the neck where 
the brand is to be applied. If the skin seems dirty, 
it should be washed clean and allowed to dry 
thoroughly -before the brand is applied. This will 
result in a clear, plain brand. If you are in doubt 
about being able to apply the brand in the correct 
position, take a piece of chalk and lightly mark the 
figures on the neck, then apply the brand on the 
figure outlined. This will insure getting the brand 
on straight. The hair must be clipped to permit of 
clean, quick branding. Blindfold the colt and stand 
him beside a fence or gate, so that he cannot crowd 
away. The iron should be heated in a small char- 
coal burner, or in any other small, clean fire. Keep 
a coarse brush at hand, so that the face of the brand- 
ing iron can be brushed off before applying it. This 
is done to make certain that there are no specks of 
dirt or cinders adhering to the face of the brand 
when it is applied. The presence of any such par- 
ticle blurs the brand and spoils the results. The 
copper head should not be heated red hot, but should 
be just turning from a bluish tinge to a faint red 
when removed from the fire. It should be allowed 



SELECTION, CARE x\ND MANAGEMENT 585 

to cool for at least a minute after this, and will still 
be hot enough for use. Experienced branders do not 
heat their irons even this hot. They heat them 
until there is a bluish tinge running over the face 
of the branding instrument, but beginners will have 
to work as indicated. At the beginning it is best 
to test the irons on some grade horses until you 
have determined the proper heat and time. The 
numbers are 1% inches high and the burning face 
is barely % of an inch. The copper branding instru- 
ments must be carefully handled; for when hot they 
are very soft. If thrown down carelessly, or struck 
against one another, they will be bent out of shape 
and ruined. 

"Step up beside the colt, and if you are a short 
man step on a box, so that you will be up on a level 
with the neck. Then apply the brand to the neck 
on the spot desired with one straight movement, 
making sure that all of the branding surface of the 
iron comes, in contact with the neck. If this is not 
done, one part of the brand will be deep while the 
other will be barely touched. It is sufficient to bring 
the iron against the neck and take it away. A 
second is all that is required. If the hair has been 
clipped, a second's touch with the hot brand will 
burn the hair roots and turn the skin to a light-brown 
color. Do not try to re-apply the brand; if /ou 
do you will simply blur the figure and spoil the 
mark. The chief danger with men who are inexper- 
ienced in branding is that they have the iron too 
hot, or apply it too long. This results in too deep 
a bum, and in the case of such figures as 8 or 
may bum out the entire center core, leaving a blotch 
on the neck, so that the figure is indistinguishable. 
If the irons are hot, as directed, a single straight 
application for a second is sufficient to bum the hair 



586 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

roots and turn the skin brown, and this is all that is 
needed. The operation is so quickly done that the 
colt or horse will not wince apprecial9ly, and there is 
no difficulty in doing the work. 

"Probably the most satisfactory plan is for each 
man to select some letter as his own, and then brand 
from 1 to 1,000. Thus C 101 might stand for Corsa 
101, indicating that this was an animal bred or 
owned by Mr. Corsa and that the identification was 
101. The breeders who adopt this system can num- 
ber 999 animals, without using more than 4 charac- 
ters, and as the figures are small the animals will 
not be disfigured. Where it is preferred, the brands 
may be applied under the mane and will not be at all 
noticeable. 

"I formerly used hoof brands, but since adopting 
this system I would not depend on the other under 
any consideration. With my present arrangement 
I am absolutely certain at all times as to the identity 
of any animal that I have. I might die and my 
entire force might be swept out of existence, but 
any stranger could step in and take the records and 
the pedigrees and identify every Percheron that I 
own. The individual neck brand is carried on the 
pedigrees, on the produce cards, and in my record 
books. It is also carried in my memorandum book, 
so that I can at any time distinguish any animal in 
pasture, barns or lots, and determine in a second 
the registered name, number and breeding." 

J. P. Gammon, with approximately 100 Perche- 
rons, says: 

"Long experience has satisfied me that there is 
no system for identifying Percherons equal to the 
plan of branding each one in plain figures, so that 
each animal has its individual mark. It does not 




AMORITA 61314. CHAJIPION MARE AT CHICAGO INTEBNATIONAb, 1909. 




HEBJIINE 10219S (76134), CHAIVIPION IIAHE AT IOWA STATE FAIR, 1914. 



SELECTION^ CARE AND MANAGEMENT 587 

disfigure the animal, but is on the contrary a mark 
of merit, as it is evidence as to the identity of the 
breeder and the care used in his breeding opera- 
tions. 

''Ahnost all the states have statutes governing 
brands, providing for legal records of same, and stip- 
ulating heavy penalties, usually a penitentiary sen- 
tence, for those who seek to deface or alter brands. 
Illinois has such statutes, and I see no reason why 
the Percheron Society of America should not have 
regulations providing that each breeder may adopt 
and have registered in the records of the society 
some specific brand which shall belong to him, and 
which shall not be infringed upon by any other 
breeder. John Brown might adopt the maple leaf 
as his symbol, and use it, with numbers following, 
to identify all his horses. In time the breeder of 
good horses would find the brand to be a valuable 
trademark, advertising him as the breeder wherever 
the horses might be used or shown. The careful, 
conscientious breeder has everything to gain by the 
adoption of a distinguishing brand to mark animals 
of his breeding. This, together with individual num- 
bers for each Percheron, will make errors on the 
part of grooms impossible, will eliminate doubt or 
disputes as to the identity of animals, and will give 
intending purchasers added confidence in purchas- 
ing from a breeder who follows the system of brand- 
ing all foals at weaning time in such manner as to 
give each individual identification numbers which 
are incorporated in the certificates of pedigree as a 
part of the description. I have used the plan for 
years, know it to be successful, and would not 
think of depending on any other system. Every 
breeder, for his own protection in dealing with 
employes and for the protection of his estate in 



588 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

case of his deatli, should adopt permanent marks 
for his Percherons. There is no system equal to 
copper branding irons, properly used." 



CHAPTER XV. 
BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING. 

We come now to the matter of an examination 
of the blood elements most largely represented in 
the breeding of the leading prizewinners of recent 
years at the two most important shows of France 
and the United States. This was undertaken not 
with a view to demonstrating the truth or falsity 
of any particular proposition, but merely as the 
presentation of the record as it actually exists. A 
study of these tabulations and summaries should 
prove of interest and value to present-day Percheron 
breeders. 

The Breeding of Leading Winners. — The show- 
ring is to Percherons what the racetrack has been to 
Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. It is the fiery 
crucible wherein the gold is separated from the 
alloy. When leading shows are considered, the win- 
ners represent the highest type which Percheron 
breeders have been able to produce. A Percheron 
of surpassing excellence in type, conformation and 
quality can no more escape the showring than a 
race horse of extraordinary speed can escape the 
racecourse, because hundreds of men are seeking out 
the most excellent animals to prove their merit by 
open competition in the showring. If successful, 

589 



590 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 

their value is greatly enlianced and their opportu- 
nities in the stud are widened. Sentiment among 
breeders is so strong, alert and well informed that 
the judging at the leading shows is in the long run 
representative of the best thought of the breeders of 
the period. Analysis of the showyard records and 
of the breeding of the winners is of great interest 
to all intelligent, thoughtful breeders. 

An exhaustive study of the winning horses at the 
shows held in the Perclie under the direction of the 
Societe Hippique Percheronne de France from 1901 
to 1910 inclusive discloses 1,418 which were awarded 
prizes in the individual classes. The large number 
is due to the French system of awarding several 
third and fourth prizes in each class. Only one first 
prize is awarded, but two second, two third, six 
fourth, seven fifth, and fifteen sixth prizes, so called, 
have sometimes been awarded. This is a scheme to 
aid sales, and wholly unjustified. 

The names and numbers of the prizewinning 
horses at all these shows were tabulated, and op- 
posite each was placed the name and numbers of 
the sire, grandsire and great-grandsire in the pat- 
ernal line. It was found that 476 stallions appeared 
but once each in the 10 years as great-grandsires of 
winners. These were therefore eliminated from 
consideration. The 942 animals remaining trace to 
only 80 different great-grandsires, some of which 
appeared more frequently than others. The num- 
ber of times each great-grandsire appeared during 
the 10 years is shown by the following summary: 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING 



591 



SUMMARY NO. 2 — 1901 TO 1910 INCLUSIVE. 

RANK OF STALLIONS ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT THEY 

APPEARED AS GREAT-GRANDSIRES OF PRIZEWINNERS 

DURING THE 10 TEARS. 



1— Brilliant 3d (2919) 123 

2 — Besigue (19602) 92 

3 — ^Villers (8081) 87 

4 — Fenelon (38) 71 

5— Voltaire (443) 61 

6 — Jules (37987) 50 

7 — Marathon (10386) 38 

8 — 'Briard (1630) 30 

9 — Jupiter 4th (13001) 19 

10 — Lavater (14574) 18 

11 — Violoneux (37412) 16 

12 — Isolin (27498) 16 

13— Lavrat (21169) 16 

14 — Lerida (6780) 14 

15 — Paros (14227) 14 

16 — ^Cocardos (35219) 13 

17— Napolitain (43046) 13 

18 — Boule-D'Or (19129) 11 

19— Sangrado (22990) 10 

20 — Jean Nivelle (34195) 9 

21 — Germanicus (7825) .;... 8 

22 — Archimede (7222) 8 

23 — Bontor (19590) 8 

24— Blande (36577) 8 

25 — Jemmapes (51958) 8 

26 — Bambin (41034) 8 

27 — Visconti (20491) 7 

28 — Numero (18789) 7 

29 — Champeaux (2248) 6 

30 — Sultan (4713) 6 

31 — Buffalo (34952) 6 

32 — Turco (8506) 6 

33 — Fernando (34038) 6 

34 — Florent 2d (5950) 5 

35 — Picador 3d (4815) 5 

36— Gilbert (461) 4 

37— La Grange (1334) 4 

38 — Pourquoi Pas (9989) 4 

39 — Clisson (41222) 4 

40 — ^Desonis (40794) 4 



41— Monid (40349) 4 

42— Othello (42829) 4 

43 — Bien-Eveille (2565) 4 

44 — Mouille (35212) 4 

45 — Morse (40383) 4 

46— Brilliant (755) 3 

47— Kadoudja (13245) 3 

48— Bernard (5501) 3 

49 — Phebus (329) 3 

50— Waterloo (39313) 3 

51— Rustique (28646) 3 

52 — Lyceen (42509) 3 

53 — Cherbourg (43393) 3 

54 — Rodomont (43006) 3 

55 — Rochefort (14837) 2 

56 — Compteur (7059) 2 

57— Major (626) 2 

58— Fier-a-Bras (13555) 2 

59 — Conquerand (29963) 2 

60— Sully (35491) 2 

61 — Donon (37397) 2 

62— Robespierre (14737) 2 

63 — Paradox (40254) 2 

64— Picador 1st (7330) 2 

65 — Bayard (9495) 2 

66 — Norbert (35763) 2 

67 — Bon Espoir (213) 2 

68 — Picador 2d (5606) 2 

69 — Etretat (41715) 2 

70 — Theudis (40871) 2 

71— Faust (42551) 2 

72 — Cambronne (40813) 2 

73— Lerida 2d (32234) 2 

74 — Louis (42916) 2 

75— Piron (42617) 2 

76— Jules (42009) 2 

77 — Beaudole (34055) 2 

78 — Matador (43400) 2 

79— Svlo (43344) 2 

90 — Diogene (22663) 2 



SYNOPSIS OF SUMMARY NO. 2 

26 great-grandsires appear 2 times 

9 great-grandsires appear 3 times 

10 great-grandsires appear 4 times 

2 great-grandsires appear 5 times 

5 great-grandsires appear 6 times 
2 great-grandsires appear 7 times 

6 great-grandsires appear 8 times 
1 great-grandsire appears 9 times 
1 great-grandsire appears 10 times 

1 great-grandsire appears 11 times 

2 great-grandsires appear 13 times 

2 great-grandsires appear 14 times 

3 great-grandsires appear 16 times 
1 great-grandsire appears 18 times 
1 great-grandsire appears 19 times 

8 great-grandsires appear more than 20 times, 

ranging from 30 to 123 



592 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

Of the 80 great-grandsires that appeared two 
times or more at any one show during the 10 years, 
46, or 57 percent, were of Brilliant breeding. 

Of the 1,418 animals at these shows, 942 trace 
directly to these 80 great-grandsires through their 
sire's line. The remaining 476 animals are unac- 
counted for; they did not have a great-grandsire that 
appeared more than once at that year's show. 

Of the 942, 724, or 76.8 percent, carry Brilliant 
blood. No doubt a great many of the animals 
trace to Brilliant blood in the succeeding genera- 
tions beyond their great-grandsires. It is true that 
a great-grandsire might appear once at each show 
during the entire 10 years and yet not receive credit 
in this list. 

The basis of this tabulation is the appearance of 
a great-grandsire at least two times in one show. 

An interesting feature, not disclosed by this sum- 
mary, but shown by the more extended figures, is 
that the stallion classes, while only slightly larger 
in number, carry a much larger percentage of the 
prominent bloodlines than do the mare classes. 

Of the 8 stallions that ranked highest in the total 
of 80 common progenitors, all are of Brilliant breed- 
ing. To these particular great-grandsires stands the 
credit of having 58 percent of the total number of 
prizewinners whose great-grandsires are included in 
this list of common progenitors. 

Brilliant 3d's* right to premier rank as a sire is 



* The sire referred to throughout the text as Brilliant 3d is 
Brilliant III 11116 (2919). 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING 593 

abundantly proved by the sliowyard records. He 
appears as the great-grandsire of 123 of the win- 
ners, and his son Besigue stands second with 92 to 
his credit. The high estimate placed on Villers is 
also borne out by his appearance in third place, as 
the great-grandsire of 87 prizewinners. Fenelon, 
sire of Brilliant 3d, comes fourth, appearing as the 
great-grandsire of 71 of the winners. All of the 
first 8 horses appearing in this roll of honor are 
sons, grandsons, or great-grandsons of Briliiant 
1271 (755), the sire that joined with his own sire, 
Brilliant 1899 (756), in founding the Brilliant strain, 
dominating blood in the Percheron breed. 

The most noted of these great ancestors did not 
win their high rank by heavy winnings of their de- 
scendants in any one or two years. On the contrary 
they have appeared as great-grandsires of winners 
year after year. This is shown by the following 
summary: 

SUMMARY NO. 3—1901 TO I'OIO INCLTISn^E 

RANK OF STALLIONS ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF SHOWS AT WHICH THET 

APPEARED MORE THAN ONCE AS GREAT-GRANDSIRES 

OF PRIZEWINNING ANIMALS. 

1. Brilliant 3d {2919% in '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10. .10 

2. Villers (8081), in '01, '02. '03, '04, '05, 'OG, '07, '08, '09, '10 10 

3. Voltaire (443), in '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '07, '08, '09, '10 9 

4. Marathon (10386), in '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, 'OS, '09, '10 8 

5. Fenelon (38), in '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 7 

6. Besigue (19602), in '04, '05, '06, '07. 'OS, '09, '10 7 

7. Lavater (14574), in '01, '02, '03, '07, 'OS 5 

8. Lavrat (21169), in '05, '07, 'OS, '09. '10 5 

9. Cocardos (35219), in '04, '05, '07, '08, '09 5 

10. Briard (1630), in '01, '02, '03, '04 4 

11. Lerida (6780), in '05, '07, 'OS, '09 4 

12. Jupiter 4th (13001), in '04, 'OS, '09, '10 4 

13. Boule D'Or (19129). in '04. '06. '07. '10 4 

14. Jules (37987), in '07, '08, '09, '10 4 



594 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 

SUMMARY NO. 3 — 1901 TO 1910 INCLUSIVE (Continued). 

15. Violoneux (37412), in '07, 'OS, '09, '10 4 

16. Champeaux (224S), in '02, '03, '04 3 

17. Archimede (7222), in '05, '06, '07 ] . 3 

IS. Germanicus (7S25), in '05, '06, '07 3 

19. Pourquois Pas (99S9), in '05, '06, '10 3 

20. Paros (14227), in '02, '03, '04 .[ 3 

21. Numero (1S7S9), in '04, '05, '10 3 

22. Isolin (2749S), in '03, '04, '07 3 

23. Blande (3G577), in '04, '05, '10 3 

24. Jean Nivelle (34195), in '06, '08, '09 3 

25. Gilbert (461), in '01, '03 , ' . 2 

26. La Grange (1334), in '01, '03 2 

27. Sultan (4713), in '09, '10.' 2 

2S. Picador 3d (4S15), in '01, '02 2 

29. BOntor (19590), in '02, '09 2 

30. Visconti (20491), in '03, '04 2 

31. Sang-rado (22990), in '09, '10 2 

32. Buffalo (34952), in '06, '07 2 

33. Fernando (34038), in '08, '09 2 

34. Jemmapes (41958), in '07, 'OS 2 

35. Clisson (41222), in '08, '09 2 

36. Desouis (40794), 'OS, '09 2 

37. Bambin (41034), in '09, '10 2 

3S. Napolitain (43046), in '09, *10 2 

39. Monid (40349), in '09, '10 2 

40. Othello (42G29), in '09, '10 2 

Breeding of Prizewinners at French Shows. — 

For the benefit of students of animal breeding, tlie 
first-prize "winners at the shows held under the aus- 
pices of the Percheron Society of France from 1901 
to 1910, inclusive, were selected and their breeding 
traced out in detail to the eighth generation, or, 
where the breeding did not extend so far, to its 
uttermost limits. There were three stallions and 
four mare classes at each of these shows. 

The detailed breeding of the seventy animals in 
question was submitted to Prof. E. N. Wentworth, 
of the Kansas Agricultural College, for analysis as 
to the percentages of blood of the leading strains 
represented, the total shown on each pedigree being 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRINa 595 

taken as 100 percent. This is not absolutely ac- 
curate, but is near enough for all practical purposes. 
In computing the proportion of blood of the lead- 
ing sires, duplications were avoided, and where, as 
in the first instance given, a pedigree is said to 
contain 12.5 percent of the blood of Brilliant 1271 
(756) and 18.75 percent of the blood of Brilliant 
1899 (755), we mean that the particular animal 
involved carries 18.75 percent of the blood of Bril- 
liant 1899 (755) through other lines than Brilliant 
1271 (756). Where Coco 2d (714) is listed, his 
blood comes down through other strains than the 
Brilliant, every precaution being taken to avoid 
duplications in these calculations. The figures show 
the percentage of the blood of leading sires carried : 

TABLE L — ^WINNERS AT THE 1901 SHOW. 
Class 1. — Stallions. Class 1. — Mares. 

CHAMBELLAN 27349 (46787). EGLANTINE 30011 (48070). 

Pprcpnt Percent 

BHlli^Tit 1971 r7<^fi^ iH Brilliant 1271 (756) .. 20.3125 

Brilliant 1271 (756) ... .12.5 Brilliant 1899 (755).. 9.375 

Brilliant 1899 (755) ... .18.75 coco 2d (714) 7.8125 

Coco 2d (714) 6.25 Favori 1st (711) 7.03125 

Favori 1st (711) 7.8125 ^lass 2.-Mares. 

Class 2. — Stallions. DOCILE (35823). 

SCIPION 27123 (43667). Brilliant 1271 (756)... 12^™ 

Percent ~. q ivr 

Brilliant 1271 (756) .. .21.875 t^tt't^'R' MSOfi^t'^ ^''®^' 

Brilliant 1899 (755)... 6.25 REINE (48062). ^^^^ 

Coco 2d (714) 3.125 Brilliant 1271 (756)... 12. 5 

Favori 1st (711) 1.5625 Brilliant 189 9 (755)... 9.375 

Coco 2d (714) 7.03125 

Class 3. — Stallions. French Monarch (734) 4.6875 

ORANGISTE 29606 (45088). Favori 1st (711) 3.5156 

Percent Class 4. — -Mares. 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 6.25 TENBBREUSE 30013 (45615). 

Brilliant 1271 (756)... 3.125 Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 3.90625 Brilliant 1899 (755) 12.5 

Favori'lst (711) 7.8125 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 6.25 

Champeaux (2248) 6.25 

Coco 2d (714) 1.5625 



596 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 



TABLE II. — ^WINNERS AT THE 1902 SHOW. 

Class 1. — Stallions. Class 1. — Mares. 

PTRRHUS 29563 (44643). EGLANTINE 30011 (48070). 

Percent See Table I. 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 3.6S75 

Coco 2d (714) 3.515625 ^^^^^ 2.— Mares. 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 3.125 DOCILE (35823). 

Favori 1st (711) 3.125 See Table L 

Class 2— Stallions ^^^^ 3.— Marcs. 

ORANGISTE 29606 (45088). TENEBREUSE 31501 (4S069). 

Sep TflhlP T Percent 

isee laoie i. Champeaux (2248) 6.25 

Class 3. — Stallions. Favori 1st (711) 4.6875 

PAUL 29885 (47477). ^oco 2d (714) 1.5625 

Percent Brilliant 1271 (756) 1.5625 

Brilliant 1271 (756) ... .15.625 ^lass 4.— Mares. 

Favori 1st (711) 7.8125 

Brilliant 1899 (755).... 6.25 OMBRELIE 30010 (50329). 

C°^^ 2d (714) 4.6875 champeaux (2248) I'T 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 4.6875 

Brilliant 1899 (755) 3.125 

Favori 1st (711) 3.125 



TABLE III. — WINNERS AT THE 1903 SHOW. 

Class 1. — Stallions. Class 1. — Mares. 

TELEMAQUE 34104 (44762). DOCILE (35823). 

Percent S®^ Table I. 

Champeaux (2248)... 18.75 Class 2.-Mares. 

Favori 1st (711) 13.671875 

Brilliant 1271 (756).. 6.25 CASTILLE 34488 (47121). 

Brilliant 1899 (^55) . . 3.125 ^^.^.^^^ ^^^^ ^™ 

Coco 2d (714) 3.125 „ . i ,. /-,,\ -, , n^n- 

Favon 1st (711) 14.0625 

Class 2.— Stallions. Brilliant 1271 (756).... 9.375 

UNIVERS 33977 (47622). C°«° '^ ^'^'^ ^-^125 

Percent Class 3. — ^Mares. 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 18.75 PAISANT 41215 (46330). 

Brilliant 1271 (756) . .15.625 Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 14.84375 Favori 1st (711)... 6.25 

C6co 2d (714) 390625 Brilliant 1899 (755) 6.25 

Class 3-Stallions ^^'^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^•*'^^^'^ 

Class 6. btaiuons. Brilliant 1271 (756) 3.125 

CASCADEUR 33977 (53120). French Monarch (734) .73415625 

Percent 

Coco 2d (714) 11.71875 Class 4. — Mares. 

Brilliant 1271 (756).. 6.25 ERMANTRUDE 41203 (51827). 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 6.25 Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 5.859375 Brilliant 1271 (756).. 4.6875 

French Monarch (734) 1.5625 Favori 1st (711) 390625 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING 



597 



TABLE IV. — ^WINNERS AT THE 1904 SHOW. 



Class 1. — Stallions. 
ELECTEUR 41264 (46264). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755)... 12.5 
Brilliant 1271 (756)... 12.5 

Coco 2d (714) 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 3.90625 

Class 2. — Stallions. 
VICTOR HUGO (52791). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .20.3125 
Brilliant 1899 (755) .. 15.625 

Favori 1st (711) 9.765625 

Coco 2d (714) 6.640625 

Class 3. — Stallions. 
CHICHI (54591). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .10.4375 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 9.375 

Coco 2d (714) 5.46875 

Favori 1st (711) 3.515625 

French Monarch (734) 1.5625 



Class 1. — 'Mares. 
ROSETTE 52054 (48054). 

Percent 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 9.375 

French Monarch (734).. 9.375 

Brilliant 1899 (755) 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 6.25 

Coco 2d (714) 3.125 

Class 2. — Mares. 
DOCILE (35823). 
See Table I. 

Class 3. — Mares. 

BLANCHETTE (51576). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 4.6875 

Coco 2d (714) 3.515625 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 3.125 

Favori 1st (711) 1.953125 

Class 4: — Mares. 
XERES (54751). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .24.21875 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 7.8125 

Favori 1st (711) 4.296875 

Coco 2d (714) 2.34375 



TABLE V. — WINNERS AT THE 1905 SHOW. 



Class 1. — Stallions. 

RAVISSANTE (46514). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 12.5 
Brilliant 1271 (756)... 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 5.46S75 

Coco 2d (714) 3.125 

Class 2. — Stallions. 

FLAMBART (54628). 

Percent 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 15.625 

Champeaux (734) 6.25 

Brilliant 1899 (75) 3.125 

Favori 1st (711) 3.125 

Coco 2d (714) 3.125 

Class 3. — Stallions. 

MONACO 45896 (58631). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755)... 9.375 

Favori 1st (711) 9.375 

Coco 2d (714) 9.375 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 9.375 



Class 1. — Mares. 
FOS'SETTE 46039 (45225). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) ... 10.9375 

Favori 1st (711) 10.15625 

Brilliant 1899 (755)... 9.375 

Coco 2d (714) 6.25 

French Monarch (734) 3.125 
Class 2. — Mares. 
PAQUERETTE (48593). 



French Monarch (734) 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 

Favori 1st (711) 

Coco 2d (714) 

Class 3. — Mares. 
XIMENES (55074). 

Brilliant 1899 (755). 14. 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . 9. 

Favori 1st (711) 6. 

Coco 2d (714) 2. 

Class 4. — Mares. 
LISETTE 85118 (58368). 

Brilliant 1271 (756).. 

Brilliant 1899 (75) 

Favori 1st (711) 



Percent 
6.25 
4.6875 
3.125 
3.125 
1.5625 



Percent 
,0625 
375 

8359375 
34375 



Percent 
4.6875 
. 6.25 
. 6.25 



598 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 



TABLE VI. — WINNERS AT THE 1906 SHOW. 



Class 1. — Stallions. 

BIBI 95697 (52612). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .10.9375 

Favori 1st (711) 9.375 

Coco 2d (714) 8.59375 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 6.25 

Class 2. — Stallions. 

DIMITRI (58251). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) .. 14.84375 

Favori 1st (711) 12.109375 

Brilliant 1899 (755) .. 10.9375 
Coco 2d (714) 78125 

Class 3. — -Stallions. 

GUERIDON (64253). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755) .. 15.625 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . . 11.71S75 

Favori 1st (711) 6.640625 

Coco 2d (714) 2.34375 



Class 1. — Mares. 
MARTHA (43811). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 3.125 

Favori 1st (711) 2.34375 

Class 2. — Mares. 
BICHB (50061). 

Percent 
Champeaux (734) ... .12.5 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 9.375 

Favori 1st (711) 7.03125 

Brilliant 1899 (755)... 6.25 

Coco 2d (714) 1.5625 

Class 3. — Mares. 
DEMOISELLE 46228 (58468). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .22.65625 
Brilliant 1899 (755) . .20.3125 

Favori 1st (711) 8.54375 

Coco 2d (714) 6.640625 

Class 4. — Mares. 
ETONNANTE 46233 (63090). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 18. 75 
Brilliant 1271 (75-6) .. 17.1875 

Coco 2d (714) 9.765625 

Favori 1st (711) 9.375 



TABLE VII. — WINNERS AT THE 1907 SHOW. 



Class 1. — Stallions. 
COCO 83035 (60171). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . . 6.25 
Coco 2d (714) 1.171875 

Class 2. — Stallions. 

MTLORD 54216 (64236). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755) . .21.875 
Brilliant 1271 (756) . .15.625 

Favori 1st (711) 9.765625 

Coco 2d (714) 2.34375 

Class 3. — Stallions. 
AVOCAT (66303). 

Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 7.2265625 

Coco 2d (714) 4.296875 

French Monarch (734) 1.5625 
Brilliant 1899 (755) 1.5625 
Brilliant 1271 (756) 1.5625 



Class 1. — Mares. 
BICHE (50061). 
See Table VI. 

Class 2. — ^Mares. 
ROSETTE 52054 (48054). 
See Table IV. 

Class 3. — Mares. 

COQUETTE (69196). 

Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 7.421875 

Coco 2d (714) 2.34375 

Brilliant .1271 (756).. 1.5625 
Class 4. — Mares. 

MIRZA 51879 (67199). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) .. 14.625 
Brilliant 1899 (755).. 9.375 

Favori 1st (711) 6.640625 

Coco 2d (714) 6.640625 

French Monarch (734) 5.46875 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING 



599 



TABLE VIII.— WINNERS AT THE 1908 SHOW. 

Class 1. — Stallions. Class 2.— Mares. 

ETUDIANT 70S02 (59291). XANTHOUETTE (55429). 

Percent Percent 

Brilliant 1899 (755) .10.9375 Favori 1st (711) 8.59375 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 8.59375 Champeaux (734) 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 4.4921875 Brilliant 1S99 (755).. 3.125 

Coco 2d (714) 1.953125 Brilliant 1271 (756)... 3.125 

Class 2.— Stallions. Coco 2d (714) 1.5625 

AVOCAT (66303). Class 3.— Mares. 

See Table VII. LEVRETTE (6.«225). 

Class 3.— Stallions. „ .,,. , ,„.,, ,^^ , Percent 

rTiTT'ivjAnTTTT? i^t^Q4i CTnocAN Brilliant 1271 (756).. 4.6875 

GRENADIER 55941 (<0250). Picador 1st (7330)... 3.125 

Favori 1st (711).... 4.10r5625 ^^'''''\ If ^'^^^ ^.125 

Picador 1st (7330).. 3.125 French Monarch (734) 1.953125 

Coco 2d (714) 2.5390625 5"^^'^"i 1!^^(^55).. 1.5625 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 2.34375 ^°<=° "^ ^'l*) 390625 

Brilliant 1899 (755) 1.625 Class 4.— Mares. 

French Monarch (734) 1.625 GAULOIS 55284 (75180). 

Class 1. — Mares. Percent 

MAUDE (51487). Brilliant 1271 (756). 7.8125 

Percent Brilliant 1899 (755). 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 10.15625 Favori 1st (711) 5.6640625 

Brilliant 1271 (756)... 3.125 French Monarch (734) 4.6875 

Coco 2d (714) 78125 Coco 2d (714) 3.515625 

TABLE IX.— WINNERS AT THE 1909 SHOW. 
Class 1. — Stallions. Class 1. — Mares. 

ETUDIANT (70802) (59291). HERMINE 61987 (74197). 

<r.' m 1.1 -cTTTT Percent 

See Table VIIL Brilliant 1271 (756) .25.78125 

riasc? 2— Stallinn^ Favori 1st (711) 9.1796875 

Class 2. btallions. Brilliant 1899 (755) 7.8125 

GALOP (69888). Coco 2d (714) 1.953125 

Percent French Monarch (734) .78125 

Brilliant 1899 (755). 3.90625 9 L^ 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 2.34375 Brilliant 1271 (756) .10.9375 

Picador 1st (7330).. 1.5625 Brilliant 1899 (755). 6.25 

Favori 1st (711) 5.078125 

Class 3. — Stallions. Coco 2d (714) 4.1015625 

HONORABLE 64381 (74813). Picador 1st (7330).. 3.125 

Percent Champeax (734) 3.125 

Favori 1st (711)... 6.73828125 aass 3.— Mares. 

Brilliant 1271 (756) 6.25 ERICA (68318). 

French Monarch Percent 

(734) 5.46875 Brilliant 1271 (756).. 4.6875 

Brilliant 1899 (755) 4.6875 Favori 1st (711) 3.125 

Coco 2d (714) 1.7578125 i^^™%"i 1899 (755).. 1.5625 

Coco 2d (714) 78125 

French Monarch (734) .390625 
Class 4. — ^Mares. 
DOCILE (69234) 

Percent 
Picador 1st (7330) 6.25 



600 



A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 



TABLE X. — WINNERS AT THE 1910 SHOW. 



Class 1. — Stallions. 
FIER-A-BRAS (65250). 

Percent 

Coco 2d (714) 8.0478125 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 5.45425 
Brilliant 1899 (755). 4.6875 

Favori 1st (711) 4.296875 

Class 2. — ^Stallions. 
HELIX 70340 (75752). 

Percent 

Favori 1st (711) 6.640625 

Brilliant 1899 (755).. 5.46875 
Brilliant 1271 (756).. 3.125 

Coco 2(i (714) 78125 

Class 3. — Stallions. 
INCOMPRISS 78960 (79751). 

Percant 

Coco 2d (714) 7.8125 

Favori 1st (711) 6.4453125 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 3.90625 
French Monarch (734) 3.515625 
Brilliant 1899 (755). 3.125 
Class 1. — Mares. 
INFRANCHISSABLE 70267 ' 
(82233). 



Picador 1st (7330). 
Brilliant 1271 (756) 
Favori 1st (711). . . 
Brilliant 1899 (755) 



Percent 
6.25 

3.515625 
2.9296875 
2.34375 



Coco 2d (714) ', 178125 



Class 2. — Mares. 
HOCHETTE 70479 (75519). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1271 (756) 8.59375 
Brilliant 1899 (755) 7.8125 

Coco 2d (714) 7.03125 

Favori 1st (711)... 5.46875 
French Monarch 

(734) 73446875 

Class 3. — Mares. 

FAVORITE 70281 (87784). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755) .17.1875 

Coco 2d (714) 10.7421875 

Brilliant 1271 (756). 9.375 
Favori 1st (711) 7.03125 

Class 4. — Mares. 

ALISE 79311 (58009). 

Percent 
Brilliant 1899 (755) 7.8125 
Brilliant 1271 (756) 7.8125 
French Monarch 

(734) 7.8125 

Favori 1st (711)... 6.4453125 
Coco 2d (714) 1.97265625 



Breeding of International Prizewinners. — The 

bree(iing of the imported horses that appear as prize- 
winners at the International Live Stock Exposition 
from 1900 to 1910 inclusive corresponds so closely 
to the French records just discussed as to require 
no further comment. An analysis has been made, 
however, of the breeding of all American-bred horses 
winning prizes at these International shows, and as 
a matter of interest the sires, grandsires, and great- 
grandsires appearing two or more times in the pedi- 
grees of the winners are given, with the number of 
prizes won by descendants. It will be noted that 
the ranking sire is by the ranking grandsire, and he 
by the ranking great-grandsire, and that the second 




JALAP 80583 (85614)— CHAMPION AT 1915 IOWA SPRING STALUON SHOW; 

PBOGEOSTT WON GBT-OF-SIBE PRIZE AT PANASIA-PACrFIC INTERNATIONAIi 
EXPOSITION, 1915. 



BLOODLINES IN THE SHOWRING 



601 



highest sire of winners is by the second highest 
grandsire. Here the consistency ends, however, as 
Marathon is the second highest great-grandsire, but 
is not the sire of Highland Chief. 



Prizes won bj^ 
American-bred 
Sires descendants 

Calypso 25017 (44577) 3S 

Superior 40605 15 

Salvanos 10827 (20922) 12 

Rhum Jr. 21627 9 

Cadmus 2162 (929) 8 

Boer 24267 (44611). 7 

Aride 25056 (45424) '"7 

Villers 13169 (8081).. 6 

Picador 27370 (48373). 6 

Olbert 42S15 (53109). 5 

Brunelles 11415 (12162) 5 

Volag-e 48578 (55179)... ." "" 5 

King of Highland 16341 5 

Ali 20012 5 

Putnam 23211 '" 5 

Pink 247G5 (47513) 4 

Constantin 35228 (48890) 4 

Hercules 21564 3 

Morse 22714 (40383) 3 

Saphir 32834 (46498) ■" 3 

Lamy 46057 (56473) '' 3 

Brilliant 1271 (755) ..'. 2 

Fils de Jupiter 11413 (9992).. 2 

Sansonnet 4300 (1990) 2 

La Grange 20372 2 

Invincible 22715 (38107).!"' 2 

Highland Monarch 40607 2 

Soldat 31084 (47533) 2 

Hyacinthe 26723 (48386).. 2 

Kimberly 25726 (44616) 2 

Villageois 27423 (44898).. . 2 

Kabyle 24761 (44167) 2 

Artiste 31529 (47528).. 2 

Paquebot 35048 (47609) 2 

Armor 46682 2 

Russo 45802 (61861) 2 

Brocanteur 30393 (51632) 2 

Breslie 43904 (59812)... 2 

Grandsires 

Theudis 25015 (40871) 40 

Highland Chief 23744 15 

Fernando (34038) 14 

Grevin 6846 (6892) 12 

Rhum 11288 (13173) 9 

Victoria 24449 (42905) 9 

Brilliant 1271 (755) 8 

Besigue (19602) 8 

Dominant 514G (2017) 6 

Briard 5317 (1630) 6 

Brutus (34739) 6 

Aiglon 13145 (8187) 5 

Scheret 8948 (15793) 5 

Han Brion 10708 (19918) 5 

Blande 29259 (36577) 5 

Artilleur 27348 (46769) 5 



Prizes won by 
American-bred 
Grandsires descendants 

Orpin 2438S (43279) 4 

Confident 3647 (397) 3 

Mirabeau (34778) 3 

Napolitain 22882 (43046) 3 

Charlemagne 22713 (40167)... 3 

Brilliant 1899 (756) 2 

Jupiter 4301 (2243) 2 

Sultan (4713) 2 

Producteur Ist (7657) 2 

Porthos 6823 (10594) 2 

Parfait 3d 10727 (12939) 2 

Baccarat 11326 (18639) 2 

Black Diamond 26279 2 

Myron (20690) 2 

Beaudole (34055) 2 

Diogene (41294) 2 

Casino 40580 (46875) -2 

Rapha«^l 25047 (43483) 2 

Olga 22736 (43283) 2 

Rivoli 33848 (46722) 2 

Rayon D'Or (44266) 2 

Great-grandsires 

Besigue (19602) 52 

Marathon (10386) 16 

Sensation 22544 15 

Brilliant 3d (2919) 13 

Brilliant 1271 (755) 13 

La Grange 3065 (1334) 12 

Chicago 6947 (7485) 9 

Bienfaisant (1397) 6 

Monarque 5149 (242S) 6 

Brilliant 1899 (756) 6 

Germanicus (7825) 6 

Gilbert (461) 5 

King of Pcrche 4975 (0738).. 5 

Ney (40287) 4 

Jules (37987) 4 

Saint Germain 6252 (4315)... 3 

Donon (37397) 3 

Malakoff 15753 (29888) 3 

Rochambeau (1382) 2 

Vaillant (404) 2 

Coco 2d (714) 2 

Jean Bart (716) 2 

Favora 1542 (7G5) 2 

Bayard (9495) 2 

Cheri 6024 (6903) 2 

Fils de Jupiter 11413 (9992).. 2 

Parfait 3d 10727 (12939) 2 

Patache (42261) .., 2 

Charlemagne 22713 (40167)... 2 

Mery (29834) 2 

Paumier (24581) 2 

Victoria 24449 (42905) 2 



602 A HISTOEY OF THE PEBCHERON HORSE 

This table shows the rank of the sires, grandsires 
and great-grandsires of the American-bred Perche- 
rons winning prizes at the International from 1900 
to 1910 inclusive. Group awards are not included 
in this list. This calculation takes into account 
every sire, grandsire or great-grandsire that 
appeared more than once in the pedigree of an 
American-bred International winner during the 10 
years. The number opposite each name represents 
the number of prizes awarded to sons or daughters, 
grandsons or granddaughters, or great-grandsons or 
great-granddaughters of the stallion in question. 







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